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...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Primary Sector

Why NZ's US tariff rates could rise on a whim

NZ's trade surplus with the US is likely to go up. Donald Trump won't like that.

Greg Hurrell 5:00am

Technology

The AI 'canary' in the consulting coal mine

Audit and advisory firms are largely keeping quiet about their AI safeguards.

Dileepa Fonseka 5:00am

The AI 'canary' in the consulting coal mine

Policy

LNG imports: Watts open-minded on scale

Energy sector analysts fear a "small, cheap" option will push up the LNG price NZ pays.

Pattrick Smellie 5:00am

Sponsored

Why New Zealand organisations need to rethink their cloud strategy

New Zealand organisations have embraced cloud computing over the past decade, but many are now confronting a sobering reality: adoption alone isn’t enough. According to Datacom’s 2025 Cloud & Infrastructure Report, only half of New Zealand businesses say they’ve realised the benefits they expected from cloud – despite significant investment.

Datacom

Sponsored