Survey highlights rise of energy system uncertainty
The World Energy Council’s World Energy Issues Monitor 2017, including the third annual energy issues map for New
Zealand, shows New Zealand’s energy sector is not immune to growing global and domestic energy system uncertainty. It’s
keeping our energy executives awake at night.
"Looking at the updated New Zealand issues map it is increasingly obvious that a new energy system is upon us," says Hon
David Caygill, Chair of the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC).
"Electric storage, innovative transport, the climate framework and market design and digitalisation are now viewed as
critical uncertainties.
"It’s not clear what changes will emerge and how policy makers and businesses will respond to the increasingly rapid
emergence of new market opportunities and business models.
"Uncertainty now extends to issues which in previous years have traditionally been those that energy executives simply
got on with - renewable energies and energy efficiency.
"In a post-Paris Agreement world, energy executives and policy makers are more and more grappling with these
uncertainties as well as how to respond to the low carbon direction in investments and policy settings.
"One thing is clear - energy resilience, the challenges it creates and the new policy, finance and consumer responses to
achieve it, are weighing on the minds of New Zealand energy executives in both the public and private sectors."
David Caygill says uncertainty is why the BEC commenced its scenarios work in 2014. Scenarios help us think about the
risks and opportunities different futures might hold and allow us to make better informed, more robust decisions.
"The ever-changing nature of New Zealand’s energy system highlights the importance of policy stability and the need for
predictable long term settings that will deliver balanced policy across the dimensions of environmental sustainability,
affordability and energy security. This will give businesses the confidence to continue to invest and create jobs."
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About the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC)
The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) is a group of New Zealand organisations taking on a leading role in creating a
sustainable energy future for New Zealand. The BEC is the New Zealand Member Committee of the World Energy Council
(WEC). www.bec.org.nz
About the World Energy Council (WEC)
The World Energy Council's network of 100 national committees represents over 3,000 member organisations including
governments, industry and expert institutions, with the mission of promoting the sustainable supply and use of energy
for the greatest benefit of all. www.worldenergy.org
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