Wholesale electricity prices halved yesterday as water poured into the country's hydro-electricity storage lakes.
Weekly figures published yesterday by electricity market administrator M-co showed hydro-electricity storage reaching 84% of average yesterday, from 72% a week earlier.
Daily inflows were below average on just one day during the past eight days, with the peak on Saturday at 2.5 times the average flow.
That saw the daily average reference price for electricity at the Haywards North Island reference point in the Hutt Valley drop from 17.45c per kW hour on Saturday to 7.85c per kW hour yesterday.
In recent days, hydro levels had dropped as low as those at the corresponding time of the year in 1992.
That was the last time the country faced a major power shortage, as hydro-electricity storage levels continued to fall as winter approached.
The weekend rainfall has now lifted it clearly back above that level.
