The impact of Maui gas leak on big business

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Thu, 27 Oct 2011 7:00p.m.

A very limited gas supply has been resumed for priority industries

A very limited gas supply has been resumed for priority industries

We think of sugar as a treat, but it is a food source vital to many of our critical food supplies.

In the last 24 hours, a very limited gas supply has been resumed for priority industries. Bakeries for example are considered a critical food supply, so many are getting back up to full production

But Chelsea Sugar is a landmark factory on Auckland waterfront and its production is stopped for days.

They will run out of sugar by the weekend

Watch Helen Vaughan’s report

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Comments

28 Oct 2011 07:23p.m.

David wrote:

This was not an unforeseeable event and industries should have a plan to deal with a gas outage especially if it is vital to their production. The Number of gas pipes their capacity and the country they have to come across are not a State Secret or even a commercial secret. Anyone with a vital interest in this information had free access to it. I would think large gas users would have had access to additional information on projected repair times for possible pipeline problems if they had asked the suppliers.
The Gas pipeline to the Hawks Bay was cut in the 2004 floods when the Bridge at Ashhurst was washed out. This is not Auckland I know but I understand that there may be some restraints and industrial plants in the Bay. Maybe they can provide some information on their experience.
Some Industrial users of gas I believe have taken a decision to not invest in maintaining an alternative energy supply. This is their decision to make and if they think the losses from a gas outage are less than the cost of maintaining an alternative energy supply over time that is OK by me. But I they should not then expect special treatment and access to the limited remaining gas that is available when an event occurs.
Using the media to blackmail the Gas supplier into making their business a special exception should not be part of the strategy for dealing with a gas supply problem as a cheap alternative to proper preparedness. Industries can plan in a number of ways e.g. they can maintain alternative energy types e.g coal, electricity, oil, can keep sufficient stocks to keep production going and supply customers for a few days, can distribute production throughout the country and not have all their eggs in one basket, can take out insurance. Off course each industry will have its own plan and some have more difficulty’s than others.