The ultimate Christchurch news report

On Saturday the Christchurch Press reported on the increasing use of heat pumps in New Zealand, as we seek to fight off the winter cold in our poorly-insulated houses. The article, which raised concerns about future capacity issues for the country's electricity generation network as a consequence of these energy-hungry machines, contained the ultimate Christchurch editorial device, which guaranteed its success for Cantabrian readers:

[Transpower's chief executive] told The Press heat pumps were efficient and ideal for parts of the country with colder winters, like Canterbury.

"My big worry with heat pumps is in areas like Auckland. They do drive up winter load, but initially some of the load will go down because they are more efficient than what they are replacing. But then people will use more electricity."

Aucklanders also tended to use heat pumps as air-conditioners in the summer, which could lead to a secondary summer peak in electricity use as well as the country's traditional winter peak, he said.

Anything that can shift the blame to the evil Aucklanders obviously goes down a treat in Canterbury!

- Source: The Press, 20 June 2009