Benmore Dam spilling

[Hitcher]

More lines of pylons and an AC-DC converter in the South, another Cook Strait cable and another Haywards in the North, and we may be able to get by with less thermal generation?

[Ixion]

Whereas an intelligent government would move industry south. Most industrial operatoions could run just as well (After a few adjustments) in the South Island as in Dorkland. They don't cos the bosses want to live in the big smoke. So, it becomes a proper part of the provenance of government to tell them to pack up and start moving. Or else.

And , of course, along with the industry go the workers. Or else.

I'd be packed within 24 hours, m'self.

[Jantar]

Whereas an intelligent government would move industry south. Most industrial operatoions could run just as well (After a few adjustments) in the South Island as in Dorkland. They don't cos the bosses want to live in the big smoke. So, it becomes a proper part of the provenance of government to tell them to pack up and start moving. Or else.

And , of course, along with the industry go the workers. Or else.

I'd be packed within 24 hours, m'self.

That is just too logical. As population moves away from Auckland, traffic congestion would disappear, so there'd be no justification for speding big money on new motorways, rail links etc. Demand for water would reduce, so the existing reservoirs would be adequate.

[White trash]

Great photos Okey. Takes me back to my childhood of thrashing a trials bike all over North Otago and swimming in Lake Aviemore constantly during summer.

No better place on earth could a kid hope to grow up.

Also seems funny to me that this is the first spill in five years. When I was a kid, every Chrsitmas for about two weeks all three dams would be spilling full noise.

Most amazing thing to watch

[White trash]

Whereas an intelligent government would move industry south. Most industrial operatoions could run just as well (After a few adjustments) in the South Island as in Dorkland. They don't cos the bosses want to live in the big smoke. So, it becomes a proper part of the provenance of government to tell them to pack up and start moving. Or else.

And , of course, along with the industry go the workers. Or else.

I'd be packed within 24 hours, m'self.

Share a cab?

[Okey Dokey]

Hey, white trash, I'm glad you liked them. It's not something many NZers have seen and that is why I posted the pics.

Mind you, the state of the country's electricity infrastructure is also worthy of comment...I'm pleased so many have something to say about that, as well. We aren't in a good place, as a country, and I hope we can improve.

[Winston001]

Hey, white trash, I'm glad you liked them. It's not something many NZers have seen and that is why I posted the pics.

Mind you, the state of the country's electricity infrastructure is also worthy of comment...I'm pleased so many have something to say about that, as well. We aren't in a good place, as a country, and I hope we can improve.

Thanks for sharing OD and I too can remember watching a Benmore spill as a kid years ago.

As for our electricity infrastructure - that is a national disgrace. The lines are owned by the Government (Transpower) so no reason for them not to be upgraded. I suspect the fact that prices would have to rise is politically unacceptable. Plus the Electricity Commissioner has in his wisdom ruled the SI generators have to pay to send power across Cook Strait. Not much incentive for them to do that when spot prices are low. So they spill instead.

To add salt to our wounds, our neighbour, that well-known place of plentiful water and hydro-electricity , Australia has cheaper electricity than we do. How the hell can that be???

[Winston001]

Whereas an intelligent government would move industry south. Most industrial operatoions could run just as well (After a few adjustments) in the South Island as in Dorkland. They don't cos the bosses want to live in the big smoke. So, it becomes a proper part of the provenance of government to tell them to pack up and start moving. Or else.

And , of course, along with the industry go the workers. Or else.

I'd be packed within 24 hours, m'self.

You are speaking to the converted but I can't see it happening. Having lived in a far-flung province all of my life, my observation is the move to large cities by government departments, businesses, and manufacturers is a one-way process. Once there a culture of entitlement sets in and people simply refuse to move away. Including the decision makers.

I know a large forestry company which centralised in Auckland 5 years ago despite having most of their assets in the South Island. It made no sense to the SI staff but the Auckland branch simply refused a shift to Christchurch, and the overseas bosses stipulated Auckland - end of story. Go figure.

At times like this I'm sympathetic to your command economy Ixion, its just being too much of being a pale liberal for me to agree.

[Shadows]

Whereas an intelligent government would move industry south. Most industrial operatoions could run just as well (After a few adjustments) in the South Island as in Dorkland. They don't cos the bosses want to live in the big smoke. So, it becomes a proper part of the provenance of government to tell them to pack up and start moving. Or else.

And , of course, along with the industry go the workers. Or else.

I'd be packed within 24 hours, m'self.

That is just too logical. As population moves away from Auckland, traffic congestion would disappear, so there'd be no justification for speding big money on new motorways, rail links etc. Demand for water would reduce, so the existing reservoirs would be adequate.

Fuck that. A little bit of global warming is a small price to pay to keep the JAFAs right where they are.

[gunrunner]

It will be interesting to see if we get low on power in the winter , and howcome they didnt let the local farmers draw the excess water from the lakes for irrigation as they will be in drought soon

[Trumpess]

... and howcome they didnt let the local farmers draw the excess water from the lakes for irrigation as they will be in drought soon

That was a thought I had aswell Gunnrunner.
Bit of a waste really!!

[imdying]

Jantar, can you still take the tour inside the Benmore dam?

[Ralph]

Yeah some good photo's alright, not often Benmore spills as you say so good on ya for taking the time to get them

With the Tiwai smelter having a few issue's it has highlighted a couple of short falls in the transmission system which is a good thing, sure it would have been great if they knew about it before but shit happens.
And the DC link is in bad need of upgrades or replacemant so when we have this excess water the thermals can be shutdown.
My 2c

[k14]

Yeah the 200MW loss at Tiwai along with higher than previous year's inflows has contributed to the spilling. I think last week we were more than 2 standard deviations above average for NZ storage (so that is only a 2% or less of the time situation). But if pole 1 of the HVDC (which was put out of service in Sept 2007) was still in service there would be a marked less amount of spill in the SI. Don't be too alarmed though, we have just had the two weeks of the lowest demand NZ has in a year and it is fairly common for a few of the hydro dams to have a little bit of spill, even in lowish flows.

Great photos Okey. Takes me back to my childhood of thrashing a trials bike all over North Otago and swimming in Lake Aviemore constantly during summer.

No better place on earth could a kid hope to grow up.

Also seems funny to me that this is the first spill in five years. When I was a kid, every Chrsitmas for about two weeks all three dams would be spilling full noise.

Most amazing thing to watch

Yeah back then the demand was a lot less and we had a big excess on the supply side of things after the big development of the waitaki and clutha in the 60's-80's so spilling would have been a bit more common. Although in saying that, the whole electricity system was centrally controlled and totally state owned so in some areas would have been run more efficiently.

[klingon]

Wow, what an interesting thread this has become! Thanks for the photos Okey, and thanks to everyone else for your fascinating contributions.

I came to KB today expecting to see (and participate in) the usual rubbish, and instead I get educated on the state of hydro generation in NZ. Much more interesting!