Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:608;Page:5605] 
8.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (NZ National—Ilam) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy 
: Does he agree with the Prime Minister and Dr Patrick Strange head of the Winter Power Task Force that New Zealand is currently experiencing an electricity crisis; if not why not? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Energy) 
: 
 The situation is potentially very serious if it does not rain and if we are unable to lift savings further. Most commentators refer to that situation as a crisis. I myself tend to reserve that word for blackouts which I earnestly hope we will avoid. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Despite the Minister’s fervent hope that we do not have blackouts does he agree with the Prime Minister that it is now time for the message to save power to “get a little more explicit”; if so how far away does he believe long hot-water cuts will be for New Zealanders particularly New Zealanders living in the Auckland district? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: These are matters that have been dealt with by the Winter Power Task Force. However my own view is that there will not be long hot-water cuts in the next week or two anyway and let us hope we can push them out further. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Can the Minister tell the House whether he is satisfied with the progress that is currently being made towards the 10 percent power savings target? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I am pleased that the savings are continuing to climb slowly but steadily and are now past 5 percent. We must see savings closer to the 10 percent target however if we are to avoid more serious problems in the next few months. 
Peter Brown 
: Is it true that the Total Energy Centre at Wellington Hospital has four marine engines that are capable of powering the hospital and up to 30 percent of the city yet are mothballed; if it is true will the Minister give this House an assurance that he will reactivate those engines? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I do not know actually but I have had discussions with companies just in the last day or two—not hospitals but electricity companies—about whether such a plant can be used for spinning reserve meaning that other plants can be used for electricity production. That might be the best way to use such a plant. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Does he concede that this energy crisis is partly the result of the public seeing this Government blaming anyone else for the crisis—today Max Bradford; last Thursday myself—and does he not concede that if he were to accept that there is a great deal of responsibility for this crisis by the Government itself—for example for allowing lake levels to drop as they did over Christmas—he might get a better response from the public? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member as usual manages to confuse the facts. The lake levels over Christmas remained static; in fact they remained static right through to the end of February. The reason is that thermal generators heated up their machines much earlier this year than they had before because the possibility of a crisis had begun to emerge. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: If the House is to believe that answer why did he tell us some time ago that he knew as early as November there was the likelihood of a dry year this year that would result in this power crisis; and if he knew that why did he do nothing early in the piece to try to avert it? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member misquotes me as he has on many occasions. I have said in this House that I was aware of problems last year. If the member wants to know precisely what caused me to become aware of those problems I will say that on or about 13 or 14 December we became aware of the independent expert’s formal opinion of the amount of gas left in Maui.