Wet spring lifts gentailers into strongest start since 2021
Today 11:15am
New Zealand’s main electricity generators head into summer with lake levels well above average and wholesale prices holding firm, setting up a strong start to the 2026 financial year and easing price pressure after two years of volatile supply.
Story copyright © Carbon News 2025
Electricity Authority proposes doubling solar export limits to 10 kW
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The Electricity Authority is proposing a default 10kW export limit for small-scale generation, saying new inverter standards and voltage settings allow homes and businesses to feed more power into local networks without compromising safety.
Transpower tracks more than 100 new grid projects
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Transpower’s latest connection data show more than 100 generation, storage and load projects in its pipeline, reflecting the rapid pace of electrification across the country.
LNG and purchasing power
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Cabinet’s electricity reforms put two tools on the table to shore up energy security – leveraging the Crown’s purchasing power and advancing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import option, both aimed at tackling the dry-year shortfall when hydro lakes run low and prices spike.
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One of the most pressing problems confronting New Zealand’s electricity system is the “dry-year challenge” – the risk that low hydro inflows coincide with falling domestic gas supply, leaving the system without enough firm capacity to keep prices stable.
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Lodestone Energy’s proposed 220 MW solar farm at Haldon Station in the Mackenzie Basin has become the first solar project to be referred to an expert panel under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
Electricity to remain in ETS
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By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Decision due on electricity market reforms
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The Government is set to release electricity market reforms, though many are likely to be disappointed at the outcome.
Govt opens all of NZ for new oil and gas exploration
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By Liz Kivi | Fossil fuel companies can once again apply for new prospecting and exploration permits beyond onshore Taranaki for the first time since the previous government’s 2018 ban, in a move welcomed by the sector but slammed by environmental groups.
EV batteries could power NZ's grid – study
25 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | EV batteries could ease peak demand by exporting power back to homes and the grid, with large potential cost savings for EV owners and electricity consumers, according to a new study.
