Minister Brown takes up energy portfolio at critical time

Energy Resources Aotearoa welcomes the re-appointment of Hon Simeon Brown as Minister for Energy and acknowledges the significant contribution of the outgoing Minister, Hon Simon Watts.

Chief Executive John Carnegie said the incoming Minister takes on the portfolio at a critical time.

"Over the past year, the context has shifted. The Prime Minister says energy is the dominant issue for the remainder of this year - we could not agree more."

Carnegie says New Zealand is now clearly in the middle of a generational energy challenge, with global pressures and domestic constraints combining to tighten supply and drive up costs.

"We thank Minister Watts for his action-focused leadership during a period where the importance of energy security and affordability is in sharp focus.

The priority for the portfolio going forward is clear: continuing on the trajectory toward secure, abundant, affordable energy for New Zealand homes and businesses.

Gas remains undersupplied, and electricity prices have not eased to levels that provide comfort to consumers or certainty for industry.

With the decline of key domestic supply, fuel sources and limited replacement capacity in the short term, the system is increasingly exposed."

Looking ahead, Carnegie says the focus must be on enabling investment and building capacity across the system to deliver resilience.

"We need to move beyond managing scarcity crisis by crisis, and toward enabling the fuels required to keep our economy humming. 

That means reducing red tape while supporting new generation, increased firming capacity, and enabling the infrastructure and fuels required to bring it online.

Without using all domestic resources available to us, New Zealand will continue to experience high prices and deindustrialisation. This should not be acceptable to any government, or indeed any voter.

New Zealand needs an energy system approach that focuses on security and affordability as the foundations for long-term economic growth, and we look forward to working with the new Minister to drive progress toward this."