Thermal

At Contact, we’re on a path to decarbonise, and our generation portfolio is now 97% renewable. Our thermal generation fleet is called on less and less as we build more renewable generation and storage infrastructure, but it still plays an important part in supporting New Zealand’s electricity system as the country electrifies and decarbonises.

We turn on our thermal plant to help cover supply shortages during periods of high demand, outages, or when renewable generation from wind, solar or hydro is lower. We have three thermal generation plants throughout the country: two diesel and one gas-powered. Thermally generated power converts the chemical energy in fuels into electricity.