MBIE’s latest quarterly energy report, released today, shows electricity prices remain stubbornly high. The report comes amidst a string of manufacturing and mill closures where high energy costs were cited as a key factor for the closures.
The report also shows coal imports increased 650%, from 71.5 kilotonnes in the June 2024 quarter to 539 kilotonnes in the June 2025 quarter as shipments of coal arrived in the country to increase the stockpile for electricity generation.
Greenpeace is accusing the Luxon Government of “completely fumbling the ball on the energy crisis,” pointing to decisions they say have worsened the situation:
- Cancelling the NZ Battery project,
- Scrapping the Decarbonising Industry fund,
- Fast-tracking seabed mining, which has driven away offshore wind developers
- Continued inaction on profiteering by the big four power gentailers.
Greenpeace campaigner Gen Toop says: “This Government has fumbled the ball on the energy crisis, and now New Zealanders, and the climate, are paying the price.
“This Government’s approach is locking in higher costs and more climate pollution. Importing more dirty coal for energy generation is the opposite of what is needed to bring down power prices and climate emissions.
“Solar and wind are the cheapest forms of new electricity. The Government needs to invest in renewables, particularly rooftop solar, to bring costs down and tackle the climate crisis at the same time,” Toop said
Transpower figures show only 986MW of new generation has been committed and financed – far short of the 1,500 GWh they say is needed every year until 2031. Meanwhile, the four gentailers paid out a record $1.37 billion to their shareholders this year while investing less than that in new generation.
“Gentailers make more money when Huntly is burning coal so they have squatted on renewable consents for years without building on them, in order to keep expensive fossil fuels in the system,” said Toop.
“This Government seems more interested in supporting profiteering power companies and outdated extractive industries, than they do in backing cheap renewables which would bring down power prices, ” adds Toop.
“Their Fast Track Act has made the whole situation worse. Seabed mining, currently in the fast track process, has chased offshore wind developers away.
“This Government is hamstrung by its own broken neoliberal ideology. Deregulation and privatisation of the energy sector has skyrocketed power prices, yet they’re still clinging on to their failed free-market experiment.”
Greenpeace is calling on the Government to invest in renewable energy, address power company profiteering and offer interest-free loans for household solar and batteries.
