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Aotearoa’s power prices keep getting higher, and quickly - residential prices have risen 48% since 2000, faster than those in most other OECD countries. Read more

2021’s power prices on the wholesale market skyrocketed - they were the highest monthly average spot prices in over 10 years. Read more

2021’s wholesale power prices averaged $190/megawatt hour compared to an average of $90/megawatt hour over the last 12 years. Read more

It's been tough on Kiwi households, with 14% of respondents to Consumer NZ’s annual energy survey having to borrow from family or friends to pay their power bill, and 7% having had to take out a loan. Read more

Businesses and homeowners are feeling the increasing pinch from rising power bills. Read more

NZ’s five biggest generator-retailers (AKA gentailers, with both a generation and a retail arm) dominate the retail market, with 84% market share at the end of June 2023. Read more

The high cost of power has impacted independent retailers, forcing some out of business, others to stop advertising on sites like Powerswitch, and some to temporarily stop taking on new customers altogether. The five retailers who pulled out of Powerswitch made up just 10 per cent of the market but accounted for 70 per cent of switches. Read more

Consumer New Zealand says people could save hundreds by switching power companies, but removing the independent competition means less opportunity for customers to switch and save. When smaller power companies are forced to remove themselves from price comparison websites, or aren’t taking on new customers, it limits customer options and strengthens market power of the big gentailers. Read more

The Government’s 2019 Electricity Price Review showed that more than 100,000 households were living in energy hardship, where they must spend more than 10% of their income on electricity. Read more

MBIE’s report on energy hardship measures for the year ending June 2022 showed that 110,000 households couldn’t afford to keep their homes warm. Read more

Energy hardship is closely related to overall poverty, and these households take great care to reduce their power use, while often living in smaller, older homes. 20% of families have gone without power or heating because they couldn’t afford it. Read more

Unfortunately hardship and unhealthy homes are also related to many health issues, particularly for children and the elderly, including preventable diseases such as pneumonia, hypothermia, and respiratory conditions. Read more

Each winter in Aotearoa it’s thought that an extra 1600 deaths can be partly attributed to cold, damp and poorly maintained homes. Read more

The Climate Change Commission has projected electricity demand to grow between 18.8% and 31.4% from 2018 levels by 2035, depending mostly on whether the Tiwai smelter goes or stays. That expected demand is down to things like more electric vehicles, and business processes changing from fossil fuels to electric. See 'Electricity market modelling' section here

Our climate goals rely on businesses moving away from fossil fuels and onto renewable energy. Kiwi businesses using process heat are responsible for around a third of NZ’s overall energy use, and 60% of that heat is generated from fossil fuels (mainly gas and coal). Read more

The high cost of power has meant many businesses can’t afford to convert to electricity, while others have closed their doors. Learn more | Read article

Some companies, like Foodstuffs, had their power costs increase by 70%. Unfortunately, it’s likely these costs will eventually trickle down to the wallets of consumers, who’ll have to pay more for products and services. Read more