New Zealand’s hydro lake storage plunged during February 2010, continuing a decline that began on January 12th.
At the beginning of February 2010 New Zealand’s hydro-electric storage lake levels stood at 3644 GWh (GigaWatt hours), 115% of average for the time of year. Levels steadily declined throughout the month, passing below average on the 23rd and finishing at 3074 GWh, 96% of average, by the end of the month.
Inflows were below average on all 28 days, reflecting the dry conditions in catchments. For most of the month, the weekly average inflow pattern paralleled that for February last year
Northbound transfers via the Cook Strait cables exceeded north-to-south energy transfers on all 28 days. On 16 days, no energy was transferred southward.
Comparing weekday for weekday, daily demand exceeded the previous February’s on 27 days. Average daily demand during February 2010 was 101.2 GWh, exceeding the average of 96.1 GWh for February 2009. However, in the longer term, average daily demand remained similar to demand in the previous two years. The February average in 2007 was 101.6 GWh, and 101.8 GWh in 2008.
Peak load of 108.7 was drawn on the 16th of February 2010, exceeding the peak load day for February 2009 when 104.9 was supplied on the 11th.
[ Compiled from data supplied by M-Co ]