Rising diesel prices are hitting Stewart Island/Rakiura residents in the pocket as power bills are set to jump for the second time in less than a year.
Stewart Island’s electricity grid is powered by five diesel generators at a central power station overseen by the Stewart Island Electrical Supply Authority.
The authority is owned and operated by the Southland District Council on behalf of the island’s residents.
Last week, the council moved to increase the price per kilowatt hour by 4 cents from 81c to 85c, effective March 1.
The bump follows a 25% increase last July, when prices rose from 65c to the current price.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Southland Mayor Rob Scott warned action needed to be taken for alternative methods of powering the island.
In 2021, plans to create a wind farm on Stewart Island fell through after an agreement could not be reached with landowners about where to build.
The government had previously granted more than $3 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to enable pre-development and construction for the project, which would have reduced dependency on diesel.
"It does need to start getting to some actual physical action on the ground, because these [diesel] prices can’t be sustainable for the island," Mr Scott said.
Cr Paul Duffy supported the increase, but highlighted concerns about progress for alternatives.
He said he wanted the Stewart Island community to be updated with any progress that was being made.
Cr Jon Spraggon — an appointee to the Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Board — said the price rise had not been formally announced to residents on the island, but there had been talk about it in the community.
Using diesel reserves to subsidise electricity generation — a practice that had occurred in previous years — was not an option in the future, he said.
"Because when something goes wrong, we’re in trouble," he said.
"In the last month we’ve had two generators cease to operate temporarily."
The report prepared for the council showed staff had recommended to the community board in December that the price be raised to 87c.
That recommendation was rejected by the board, which pointed to the rising cost of living as reason enough to keep the cost down. — LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
