How a New Zealand power co. made 4x profits & cut 50% staff
Nov 25, 2023 7:59:12 GMT -6
feralferret likes this
Post by papaof2 on Nov 25, 2023 7:59:12 GMT -6
www.nooutage.com/1998.htm
AUCKLAND UNPLUGGED - The story of a blackout
On February 20, 1998 the chief executive of Mercury Energy is on his way to a celebration honoring his accomplishments. Having quadrupled the profits of his company in four years and halved the staff in the same period, he has achieved a lot. But on that day the last of the four underground cables supplying power to Auckland's Business District fails, leaving Central Business District in the dark. Repairing these gas and oil filled cables usually take several weeks. The next morning virtually every generator in New Zealand is on its way to the capital city. In the next few days, a team is formed and has generators flown in from as far away as Australia, Singapore and the United States. A generator part of a cargo ship is even connected to the grid bringing total operating capacity to 42 MW. Still, this is far less than the normal peak demand of 180 MW. The emergency power supply is not sufficient to run air-conditioning, elevators and computers. To keep their businesses going over the following weeks, many companies take their only option: move out of the Central Business District. Retailers face huge financial losses. After round-the-clock repairs, two of the cables are ready for testing on March 4th. Unfortunately both failed the test. At this point, the local power transmission company joins the effort which ultimately results in the construction of a new overhead 110 kV 120 MW transmission line 5 1/2 miles long. On April 15th, some 52 days after the CEO's interrupted trip to a celebration, power is fully restored. The costs of the crisis ultimately cost the company NZ$128 million plus pending lawsuits of about NZ$10 million.
Electric Light & Power magazine, November 1998
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And companies wonder why their customers question those companies' actions?
AUCKLAND UNPLUGGED - The story of a blackout
On February 20, 1998 the chief executive of Mercury Energy is on his way to a celebration honoring his accomplishments. Having quadrupled the profits of his company in four years and halved the staff in the same period, he has achieved a lot. But on that day the last of the four underground cables supplying power to Auckland's Business District fails, leaving Central Business District in the dark. Repairing these gas and oil filled cables usually take several weeks. The next morning virtually every generator in New Zealand is on its way to the capital city. In the next few days, a team is formed and has generators flown in from as far away as Australia, Singapore and the United States. A generator part of a cargo ship is even connected to the grid bringing total operating capacity to 42 MW. Still, this is far less than the normal peak demand of 180 MW. The emergency power supply is not sufficient to run air-conditioning, elevators and computers. To keep their businesses going over the following weeks, many companies take their only option: move out of the Central Business District. Retailers face huge financial losses. After round-the-clock repairs, two of the cables are ready for testing on March 4th. Unfortunately both failed the test. At this point, the local power transmission company joins the effort which ultimately results in the construction of a new overhead 110 kV 120 MW transmission line 5 1/2 miles long. On April 15th, some 52 days after the CEO's interrupted trip to a celebration, power is fully restored. The costs of the crisis ultimately cost the company NZ$128 million plus pending lawsuits of about NZ$10 million.
Electric Light & Power magazine, November 1998
=============================================================================
And companies wonder why their customers question those companies' actions?