As New Zealand woke to the coldest day of the year, Kiwis experienced freezing temperatures and warnings of rolling power outages due to a nationwide grid emergency.
MetService reported that Christchurch, Twizel, and Mt. Cook Airport were the chilliest regions, dropping to -6.4°C around 5:30 a.m. Alexandra followed closely at -5°C, while Taumarunui in the North Island hit -4.6°C.
Despite icy conditions, the nation’s grid operator Transpower urged citizens to limit heater use and avoid unnecessary electronic consumption to prevent overloading the power grid. The company had forecast a supply shortfall for 7-9 a.m. and issued an advanced warning, recommending the postponement of using energy-intensive appliances like dishwashers and dryers.
Energy Minister Simeon Brown emphasised the need for energy conservation while criticising the previous Labour government policies for causing power shortages, citing a ban on oil and gas exploration as a contributing factor. Meanwhile ACT leader David Seymour described the power cuts as a ‘Third World’ issue.
Transpower emphasised prudence in issuing warnings to stimulate increased electricity generation, while investments in new power projects like the Tauhara geothermal station are ongoing. The Consumer Advocacy Council (CAC) described the situation as a wake-up call for renewable energy reliability, urging industry stakeholders to implement changes ensuring sufficient energy supply.
While most of the country felt the winter chill, some regions remained relatively warm. The Far North reached 13°C, and Invercargill warmed up after hitting a low of 7°C at midnight.
Severe frosts were anticipated in the Canterbury and Central Plateau regions, with temperatures expected to fall further as the cold front persists. NIWA Research noted that the country remains under a “winter-like surge,” with more subzero temperatures expected.
One frost in Auckland and suddenly the network can’t cope? Too many EVs on overnight charge when solar doesn’t work and it ain’t windy?https://t.co/2y0CuuNwCb
— Ian Wishart (@investigatemag) May 9, 2024
Image credit: Thomas Despeyroux
Funny how the Global Elite have already said as one of their control mechanisms they will use rolling black outs. As they are called Transpower does that mean they just self identify as a power company instead of actually being one?
So much for the climate change bull****…and we can see where the half arsed Green policies are leading……the real problem is pollution and that does need addressing……NZ is hardly pristine…….
Of Labour set us up to force people into darkness and no heating. They were carrying out the orders of their masters. Don’t think this government will change anything, maybe a bit of noise over winter and then when a little warmer weather comes it’s back to green crap. The power people are like the banks, unanswerable.
Softening the public up for energy rationing.
My computer modelling says if we have more cows farting that will increase the air temperature and lessen the burden on the national grid
Bring back global warming 🤣🤣🤣
Who would buy an EV now? 🤣🤣🤣
When they say renewables-they mean water eh, as in hydro…..well you would think so wouldn’t you?