Mighty River’s output slips 18% in Q1 FY 2013/14

Oct 23, 2013 - New Zealand power producer Mighty River Power (NZE:MRP) today said its power generation volumes in July-September had declined by 18% year-on-year to 1,621GWh.

The drop was attributed to reduced hydropower output after low inflows into the Waikato hydropower system catchments.

Mighty River’s hydropower production in the three months through September, the company's first fiscal quarter, fell to 863 GWh from 1,314 GWh a year earlier -- reaching the lowest level for that time of the year since 1999. Nevertheless, consolidated geothermal production rose to 645 GWh from 459 GWh thanks to the 82-MW Ngatamariki geothermal plant, which boosted its output to 691 GWh.

Electricity sales volumes to customers slipped by 5% on the year to 1,430 GWh, mainly due to decreased demand and lower commercial volumes. Sales volumes to commercial clients were down to 664 GWh from 721 GWh, while those to residential customers eased to 766 GWh from 784 GWh.

The decline in wholesale market pricing led to a drop in the average power generation price, which fell to NZD 64.37 (USD 54.15/EUR 39.31) from NZD 65.30 a year before.

(NZD 1.0 = USD 0.841/EUR 0.611)

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