Electricity Providers - Cleanest/Greenest

[sbinder]

I just moved into a new flat (second time in 4 months - ugh!) and am now responsible for setting up all the services. My questions are - which of the major electricity providers available in Chch are greenest/lowest-emitters, and which are the best value? I am hoping the answer is overlapping!

Based on the comparison at Consumer NZ (www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch), I looked into Contact Energy and Meridian Energy, and it seems Contact gives a bit more back cost-wise, but Meridian is 10% carbon neutral. I also had Empower Energy recommended to me, but their website has been down for the last couple days so I cannot get any info.

[nippa&pippa]

We are with Empower energy and they have been provide good service to us as well as we get discount for early payments, that all we know about them

[James 1077]

Green electricity is a con anyway - it all comes from the same grid and there is no way of seperating out the green from the non-green.

[DB]

Green electricity is a con anyway - it all comes from the same grid and there is no way of seperating out the green from the non-green.

Electricity doesn't come "from" the grid; the grid transports electricity from generator to consumer. Thus the various sources of electricity are co-mingled on the grid, but there is always a source, and always a destination.

In no way is this a "con".

Meridian Energy have most of the hydro schemes in their portfolio, and have committed to building only renewable schemes in future, and thus probably qualify for the "greenest electricity supply" moniker.

[James 1077]

Electricity doesn't come "from" the grid; the grid transports electricity from generator to consumer. Thus the various sources of electricity are co-mingled on the grid, but there is always a source, and always a destination.

In no way is this a "con".

Meridian Energy have most of the hydro schemes in their portfolio, and have committed to building only renewable schemes in future, and thus probably qualify for the "greenest electricity supply" moniker.

Perhaps I should clarify - Green energy is only "not a con" when generating capacity isn't at, or close to, 100% as then elec companies can choose what they do and do not buy. However generating capacity is always pretty close to 100% at peak times (due to needing to get income out of your capital you don't have too many generators sitting idle) so elec companies don't have too much of a choice as it all needs to be used up. Yes you may be on a plan from someone who provides you with 50% renewable but in peak times all they do is cut back on the renewables they are supplying to Joe Bloggs who is on their bog standard plan in order to provide that percentage to you; so over the populace there is no difference in the carbon dioxide emissions - some people are simply paying more for their power.

With respect to building only renewables in the future I'm pretty sure that this will be the case for most companies as, in the present climate (no pun intended), you are very unlikely to gain resource consent for a fossil fuel burning generator.

[Nathan]

Perhaps the question should be 'which energy companies have a long-term, demonstrated commitment to investing in clean, sustainable sources of electricity, as opposed to which ones invest in dirty, destructive energy sources?" Clearly, some NZ energy providers show a preference to wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric, while some are committed to coal.

[Nick88]

I agree completely with James.

Even if one company was complete green (red?), those forms of generation are so inconsistent that anytime there is a shortfall from the wind turbines it has to be made up by something like the diesel generator in Hawkes Bay. Besides about 65% of NZ's power is renewables anyway, mainly from the hydro in the SI and geothermal from the central NI. Ironically the power companies don't seem to be able to get resource consent to develop new generation based on these energy sources because it either upset the local iwi or ruins the fishing. The Meridian CEO recently admitted that wind turbines only run at full efficiency 25-30% of the time. How can a country base its energy policy on something so unpredictable?

Meanwhile we are exporting millions of tons of lignite to China and India every year from Southland. The whole system is completely insane, but that's what happens when political ideologues take over the asylum.