Electricity market reforms cycle continues with incremental change

Energy Minsiter Simon Watts makes another déjà vu moment in electricity market reform. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 02 Oct 2025

There is one certainty about electricity sector reviews – people end up disappointed.The latest iteration is remarkable in that almost all of Frontier Economics’ diagnosis of the problems is accepted, but the recommended treatments are not.A highly sceptical series of peer reviews, combined with Cabinet pragmatism and a dose of political realism, means the radical ideas are out. An international panel of energy economists, including Severin Borenstein and James Bushnell, broadly concluded that New Zealand’s wholesale mark...

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