Waikaremoana Power Scheme Cleared For Sale By 2001

The Government has announced the Waikaremoana Power Scheme in Hawkes Bay will be sold by the year 2001.

The sales process for the power scheme will be passed onto the new Huntly SOE if the Government decides to proceed with the split of ECNZ on December 15.

The Huntly SOE will be allocated the Waikaremoana Power Scheme at book value with a strict requirement for it to sell by December 2001 and the proceeds of the sale will be returned to the Government.

SOE Minister Tony Ryall says given the likelihood that ECNZ will be split into three it is sensible that ECNZ hands over the sales process of the small hydro schemes when the split occurs on 31 March 1999. Mr Ryall says while Huntly SOE will take over the sales process for Waikaremoana, the South Island SOE will take over the sale of Cobb Power Scheme when it is cleared for sale.

Mr Ryall says the Huntly SOE will have ownership of Waikaremoana for just over two years and that will help to give the new SOE a strong footing during its establishment phase.

Mr Ryall says the Government is very confident of the viability of all of three SOEs to be established from the ECNZ split. He says the Government's advisor on the split, the Electricity Reform Transition Unit, is satisfied that the allocation of Waikaremoana to the Huntly SOE will not affect expected electricity price reductions.