Stewart Island Electrical Supply Authority (Siesa) has told residents there will be no payment for any surplus renewable energy being supplied into the island’s independent grid.
Stewart Island Community Board chairman Aaron Conner said the authority had been in a difficult situation since diesel fuel price increases had outstripped what it was charging for power. No-one had been able to provide the board with a definitive picture of the company’s financial peril because of the many associated costs.
"We were unsure to be perfectly honest, whether we’re making money, or it’s costing us money."
He acknowledged Siesa’s financial woes were not the domestic supplier’s problems but it was purely a "business decision".
"There’s no mandate under the law that we have to pay for it."
"Until we find out whether it’s costing us or not costing us, we’ve chosen to take the business decision, as a board, not to pay anyone."
The Otago Daily Times understands the Stewart Island Community Board made the decision to stop the contributor payment.
The decision meant Siesa made 100% profit on each unit supplied to the grid from domestic users.
In 2022, SIESA had a $1.9 million reserve fund set aside for infrastructure maintenance, but the fund was being used to bridge the gap between increased fuel costs and power charges.
Mr Conner said at the rate the fund was being used, it would be completely depleted by next year.
"... we’ve lost many thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the diesel price."
Two diesel powered generators supply the island’s 400 residents and 40,000 annual visitors with electricity using 360,000 litres of diesel per year.
Ian and Iris Tait, who manage their daughter’s solar-powered home on the island, said Siesa told him the 20 cents per unit charge the Southland District Council-owned entity normally paid for feeding the island’s grid was to be wiped.
Removing the token payment could also remove the incentive for people to change their power supply option. By contributing excess power you were helping the environment and the community, and it felt like a win-win, she said.
Mr Tait wanted some explanation from those in charge why it had taken such a radical shift.
There were several homes on the island that had invested in solar power installations.
Siesa had installed a special meter in his daughter’s home to be able to calculate both inward and outward flow to the grid, but had not signed a supply agreement with their daughter.
"I lost my cool completely yesterday and told their manager that as far as I was concerned, the s... was going to hit the fan."
The company had also recently increased its charges to the island’s community from 61 cents/unit to 81 cents/unit.
The price increase was really hurting some people, he said.
"By putting power back into the system, we save the community diesel and they still make money on the power."
The Southland District Council, which manages the island’s power company, declined to comment before deadline.
By Toni McDonald
