Energy hardship eases overall, but affordability worsens since 2021

Homes are getting less mouldy. (Image: Deposit Photos)

Wed, 17 Dec 2025

Measures of energy hardship improved between 2019 and 2024, but the overall trend reflects improvements in housing quality rather than energy affordability, with key affordability indicators worsening since 2021.The latest report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on energy hardship measures, covering the year ended June 2024, shows statistically significant improvements in three of its five core indicators since 2019.As the data runs only to June 2024, it does not cover the impact of power bill increases since then...

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