This morning's power woes came close to a repeat of the power cuts which occurred in August last year.

Transpower declared a “grid emergency” during the period of peak morning demand.

It was due to a mechanical failure at one of Contact Energy’s power plants, a sudden drop in wind speeds, and a drop in power from one of the five turbines at Genesis Energy’s Huntly Power Station.

Energy consultant Murray Ellis told Heather Du Plessis Allan New Zealand's power system is running too close to the edge on its total capacity.

“When things like the wind speed is dropping, it's not exactly unforeseen or unexpected.”

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