Lower Electricity Generation in December Quarter

Lower Electricity Generation in December Quarter

Seasonally adjusted electricity generation decreased by 0.2 percent in the December 2003 quarter compared with the September 2003 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand.

In the December 2003 quarter, hydro generation (6,526 gigawatt hours) was 0.2 percent lower than in the December 2002 quarter, while thermal generation (2,581 gigawatt hours) was 1.0 percent lower than in the December 2002 quarter.

Hydro generation supplied 72 percent of the electricity generated in the December 2003 quarter. Over the past 10 years, the December quarterly average contribution of hydro generation to the total electricity generated has been 74 percent.

Gas production was 188,000 terajoules in the year ended December 2003, down 23.6 percent when compared with the year ended December 2002, and 27.3 percent lower than in the year ended December 2001, when production reached the highest level recorded in a December year.

Production of refined petrol was 1.5 million tonnes in the year ended December 2003, an increase of 3.1 percent compared with the year ended December 2002. In the year ended December 2003, production of premium (96 octane or higher) petrol fell 6.3 percent compared with the year ended December 2002, reaching its lowest level since the series began in 1982. In contrast, production of regular (91 octane) petrol rose 6.0 percent compared with the year ended December 2002, reaching its highest level for a December year since the series began in 1982.

In the December 2003 quarter, deliveries of petrol (646,000 tonnes) and diesel (580,000 tonnes) to resellers and direct to industry were 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent higher, respectively, than in the December 2002 quarter.

David Archer

Acting Government Statistician

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