Source: Radio New Zealand
Diesel and petrol prices have now hit $4 per litre on Rakiura Stewart Island. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Rakiura locals fear surging fuel prices will soon send their power bills rocketing up, and that Stewart Island – which relies on diesel generators for electricity – may face blackouts.
Stewart Island is home to about 400 people and it burns through about 1000 litres of diesel a day to create electricity.
Diesel and petrol prices have now hit $4 per litre on the island as the United States and Israel’s war against Iran continues.
Sharon Ross – one of the owners of the island’s only service station – said the last week had been the busiest they had seen since the Covid-19 pandemic, as people rushed to fill up and beat rising prices.
“People are concerned about how high it’s going to go. There’s been lots of joking that we should have tissues at the counter to mop up the tears after they’ve filled their tanks,” she said.
“People are concerned about the supply, and they’re also concerned that we’ll run out of power because we have five generators operating on diesel, and if they can’t keep the diesel up to them what that would mean to the island.”
Power prices were so far stable, but Ross said it was a waiting game.
“Our average power bill here is between $500 and $700 a month, which is also the same as our home one. So it’s frightening to think how much that might increase,” she said.
“Everything’s affected here because everything arrives by freight to the island so all those cartage bills will go up.”
Southland district councillor Jon Spraggon, from the Rakiura ward, said high diesel prices would likely push up power prices on the island.
“Power is 84 cents a unit here at the moment, where it goes is an unknown factor. Diesel prices have gone up a fairly substantial percentage and I would suspect our price would go up by a similar percentage,” he said.
But his biggest concern was ongoing supply of diesel.
“If we were to run out of diesel, then the electrical supply on the island would cut out. Things like our communication with the mainland, our connections with the mainland, the airline, the ferry services all rely on fuel,” he said.
Spraggon said diesel was delivered to the island twice a week and at the moment that was still happening, but these were uncertain times.
He wanted the government to keep Stewart Island in mind as the fuel situation worsened.
“When they’re looking at it and in future perhaps rationing or anything like that, Stewart Island needs to be a special case because of its remoteness and and it’s total dependency on diesel,” he said
He said the district council was in the process of installing a solar farm on the island to supplement diesel generation, but that was still eight months away.
Stewart Island Backpackers owner Aaron Joy said businesses were being hit hard by escalating fuel prices.
“We run the hostel on Stewart Island and we’re covering the costs at the moment but there will come a time where if it keeps going up we have to pass that onto our clients,” he said.
The Southland District Council said it was monitoring the situation and would discuss its options with the Stewart Island community board.
It said while the Stewart Island Electrical Supply Authority did have reserves, it was not meant to be a buffer for fuel prices.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
