NZ Ranked in Top 10 in Global Energy Comparison

NZ Ranked in Top 10 in Global Energy Comparison

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) welcomes New Zealand’s continued robust energy sector performance in comparison to other countries.

The World Energy Council's 2017 Energy Trilemma Index ranks countries on how well they achieve the energy 'trilemma' balance of security, equity and sustainability. With an overall balanced rating of AAB, New Zealand remains 9th out of 125 comparator countries and is still the best performing country in the Asia-Pacific region, and again the only non-European country in the top ten.

BEC Chair David Caygill said New Zealand maintaining its top ten ranking suggested a consistent approach to the pursuit of balanced energy policies.

This year Denmark leads the top ten, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Norway, France, New Zealand and Slovenia. The ranking suggests New Zealand is in a good position, performing relatively better on energy security and energy equity than environmental sustainability.

"New Zealand ranked 13 of 36 OECD countries for energy affordability. This is particularly noteworthy given our size and remote geographic location which means, unlike many European nations, we must import our transport fuels over significant distances and cannot rely on interconnection from other countries for our electricity and gas supplies," David Caygill said.

This year New Zealand dropped from 36 to 42 in the environmental sustainability category (21st against OECD comparators). While New Zealand has made modest improvements in this category, other countries have shown greater advancements which has resulted in their ranking overtaking ours.

The energy sector is facing three trends impacting demand and supply at an unprecedented pace: decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation.

"New technologies and systems are set to revolutionise the way we produce and consume energy which will lead to unprecedented opportunities for energy efficiency and emissions reductions but will require new ways of thinking," Mr Caygill said.

"New Zealand is among the world leaders in digitalisation and can leverage this advantage to achieve the improved emissions and efficiency outcomes sought by the new Government."

Cross-sector partnerships, new ways of optimising assets, and greater use of new technology platforms open doors to greater energy efficiency on the supply and demand side and consumer value. BEC members are at the forefront of these initiatives.

"Clear policies, based around the achievement of sound energy sector outcomes will help unlock investment in energy efficiency and emissions reductions and support the attainment of ambitious targets, and we look forward to working with the new Government as it formulates its new energy policy settings," Mr Caygill said.

ENDS

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

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. BEC is the New Zealand Member Committee of the World Energy Council (WEC). All BEC members are automatically members of the WEC. www.bec.org.nz

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