Heavy snowfall over recent days has seen snow storage in the Waitaki catchment rocket to 105% of average, up from 83% last week.
“When it comes to topping up lake levels, snow is just as welcome as rain,” says Meridian GM Wholesale, Chris Ewers. “While rain almost immediately helps increase the level of Lake Pūkaki, all that snow on the mountains above the lake is invaluable later in the year when the temperature heats up and rain becomes less frequent. It’s like having another lake.”
On 20 August the snow base was just 63% of average - the lowest recorded for that time of year, while it had been as low as 58% of average earlier in the season.
And after being at its historical low just a few weeks ago, Lake Pūkaki is now just 2m below average, with another 70-100mm forecast for the Waitaki catchment later this week.
“Lake Pūkaki is now three metres higher than it was less than a month ago,” says Chris Ewers. “While it’s been an immense turnaround, there is still plenty of room for more rain. We know it’ll make for a much less enjoyable spring for people, but we’re quietly hoping for a few more spells of snow and rain over the next couple of months. Miserable weather makes us very happy.”
Meridian’s six wind farms have continued their impressive performance, producing 43.8GWh last week, and with more windy conditions forecast. That performance was topped by Harapaki Wind Farm, hitting its maximum 176MW numerous times.
It was a slightly more volatile week on the wholesale (spot) market, with average prices of $85 per megawatt hour (MWh) for the North Island and $80MWh for the South Island, with overnight lows dropping below $20MWh.
ENDS
Snow at Ōhau A - Tim Preston-Marshall