In fifteen years, when the bulk of New Zealand’s transportation is powered by electricity, what’s going to happen – how’s it all going to work?
New Zealand has a multitude of renewable sources from which to generate electricity – wind, solar, hydro, geo, bio – and through these we currently have over 100 power stations around the nation yet, be it through ‘low lake levels’, ‘excess usage’, ‘nationwide shortage’, or some other tenuous reason, at some point each year, without fail every year, power companies claim ‘insufficient generation’ and through this, they justify raising electricity prices to ridiculous levels.
The above might suggest there is a shortage of electricity being generated around New Zealand but, here’s the thing, in no way can this be the case; having seen the facts and studied the figures, across our existing 100-plus power stations and over the previously stated methods of generation, even if our hydrogeneration fell to half its usual megawatt output (for example, in an unprecedented nationwide drought event), at least on paper, there would still be sufficient megawatt generation to balance this shortfall through wind, geo, bio, and solar.
Why, then; how can power companies claim electricity ‘shortage’, and thus charge consumers higher rates, when there is no shortage?
Aha, this issue is more sinister than it first appears.
Not so long ago (presumably trying to slide by unseen behind the veil of the nation’s COVID concerns), major New Zealand power stations were found to be ‘spilling water’ from their reservoirs, claiming ‘low lake levels’ then, obviously, they were charging consumers higher electricity prices; this patently unscrupulous act is indicative of a rapacious sector that clearly requires greater Government regulation and, in the future, that requirement for regulation is only going to grow.
This is the control we have already afforded New Zealand’s electrical industry and, in fifteen years, when the nation becomes doubly reliant on electricity, what do we think is going to happen?
Like oil companies and the fuel prices they dictate across the nation (the world), we are unwittingly preparing to give New Zealand’s utilities that same power; ten to fifteen years’ time, sure, our petrol bills will have reduced but, guaranteed, Kiwis will be paying double, maybe triple, even maybe an exponentially increased cost per electrical unit.
To the above question, ‘how is it going to work?’, this is how it’s going to work; much as they like to push the ‘friendly’ image, power companies are not your buddy, they are businesses, and they will screw out of you as much money as they can for as little effort as possible.
Fifteen years in the future, once we have afforded our utilities the power to essentially dictate people’s finances through electricity prices, if that electrical dictatorship is not heavily regulated by the Government, consumers can be certain, these rapacious power companies are going to continually push up prices until what you are paying to charge your car overnight, will be little different to pulling up at a petrol station forecourt throughout the day.
Turns out the New Zealand electrical grid does have adequate generation capacity, it can produce sufficient megawatts to keep its people powered up for years to come; our utilities just need to utilise that capacity and not be duplicitous about it.
Kiwis need to keep in mind, the New Zealand Government wants us to drive EVs to save our world, not to save our dollars.
Utilities are big businesses, high profit, very high taxes.
Amid a Socialist Empire, Government always wins.
Article by Tim Walker
Edited by Holden Bach
Photography by Max Power