The clubs have two providers for their electricity supply on the mountain.
Clubs receive two bills each month, one from each of the providers.
1) The Energy Retailer – Traditionally – KCE – King Country Energy – Clubs can select any of the (18) retailers to supply their energy – for most clubs this is the smallest portion of their Energy costs typically $3,000 to $4,000 per year.
2) The Lines Company – they connect you to the Generators of Electricity via the Transpower National Grid network. This is by far the largest part of the energy cost typically $12,000 to $14,000 per year depending upon the clubs peak loads.
For all clubs on the mountain this is The Lines Company (TLC) based in Te Kuiti .
TLC is a electricity distribution company based in the King Country, 100% owned by the Waitomo Energy Services Trust. TLC looks after the 4,500km Power line network in the 13,700 sqkm area – King Country, Waitomo & Central Plateau for its 24,000 customers.
What can your club do to reduce its Electricity Bill:
Become energy efficient – look at installing low energy devices, improving building insulation, using better drying room technology and using alternative energy sources.
In particular the “Lines” component of your bill.
Reduce it’s “Peak Loads” on the network during a load control period – typically 4:30pm to 11pm on cold winter evenings when the demand on the network is at its greatest.
How do you do this – Switch off unnecessary load during this period – i.e Hot water heating, Drying rooms, Room heating, exterior lighting and cooking elements.
The new Time of Use (TOU) Meters – provide a signal when to turn off the unnecessary load during a “Peak” load period. The club will need to organise an electrician to make changes to the wiring in the club switchboard and circuits to achieve this load shedding.