Industry exercise tests response to electricity shortfall

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Industry Exercise.

Control room operators, communications and customer teams came together this month to work through a simulated exercise and test their collective response to a major power system event.

This annual exercise is a key part of our work with the system operator and the wider industry to rehearse and reinforce processes for managing and responding to potential electricity supply shortfalls. With the request from the system operator to conserve power last Friday, it proved a very timely exercise.

It was great to see the industry come together to manage their respective roles when the system comes under pressure. The exercise helped make sure organisations across the motu are well prepared to coordinate their efforts for tight supply situations in order to keep the lights on, keep consumers informed and help ensure a stable electricity supply for all.

This preparation was put into practice last week when New Zealand faced a potential electricity shortfall due to the unseasonal cold snap, low wind generation and planned outages of several power stations. The system operator did a great job of letting industry know well in advance of the potential shortfall and the wider industry responded as a collective, pulling what levers they could to provide more supply or reduce demand.

Additional market information provided by the Wholesale Information Trading System enabled participants to see the impacts of their actions and the severity of the situation as it unfolded. It was a great example of putting the learnings from the Industry Exercise into practice and industry participants doing their part to get through a tight spot whilst keeping everyone informed.