New Zealanders are likely to be asked to cut their electricity consumption from this weekend due to the effects of a prolonged drought, Energy Minister David Parker said Monday.
The drought has reduced the level of the most important South Island lakes used for generating hydro-electricity to about half of normal.
About 64 percent of New Zealand's power comes from hydro generation.
"Rain over the weekend has had a small positive impact, but unless we receive significantly more this week, a power savings campaign funded by electricity generators will be stepped up, starting on Sunday," Parker said.
Parker said there were simple steps households and companies could take to reduce consumption such as turning appliances off when they were not in use.
"We do not want the sick or elderly to turn off the heaters at home," he added.
"The best advice we have is that if we have normal rainfall in the hydro catchments, as is forecast, extra measures will not be needed," he said.
Parker said the electricity supply system was secure for now.
"It's not a crisis, it's another step along the way when you have a dry winter," Parker told reporters.
"This is the driest winter of inflows that we've had since 1992."
The executive director of the major electricity users group, Ralph Matthes, said the situation was serious.
"It's more serious I think than the minister is suggesting," Matthes told Radio New Zealand.
"I know from the perspective of industry, it has cost industry a lot in foregone sales."
"When I think about the economic harm already done to commerce and industry and the potential harm as we go into another two months of this, I'm starting to think about the word crisis."
