ACT Leader David Seymour is challenging leaders of New Zealand political parties to take up the energy sector’s call for a cross-party consensus on energy resilience.

Twelve organisations from across the energy sector have written to party leaders echoing ACT’s call for a cross-party accord to address energy shortages over the long term.

“On winter mornings we’ve come perilously close to blackouts, while mills and factories shut down operations in response to spiking energy prices. We risk a structural transformation of the New Zealand economy, we’re being deindustrialised,” says Seymour.

“There is strong consensus from the energy sector that a clearer plan for energy is needed, and that it needs the backing of both sides of politics. The number one issue is that investment in generation takes decades, whereas the political cycle is only three years.

“People investing in generation are trying to hit a target for returns thirty years from now. That is a challenging business decision with political stability, but nearly impossible when they have no idea what the policy settings will be.

“So far, chopping and changing visions for New Zealand’s energy future have only seeded uncertainty and shattered confidence. Companies in the natural gas sector, for example, have little reason to take a punt on new exploration or generation, knowing that a change in government could see their operations made illegal. Meanwhile, across the sector, investors have been spooked by the threat of taxpayer-funded projects like Lake Onslow Hydro squeezing private operators out of the market.

“If we expect any energy company to invest in new generation, we need to give them some level of baseline certainty that a future government won’t pull the rug out from under them with new restrictions or massive interventions into the market.

“Yet it’s not only certainty that’s required. Labour and the Greens could offer a future of certain poverty. ACT says there’s no possible energy stack that both a) doesn’t have gas for the foreseeable future and b) will allow New Zealand to be economically competitive. If Labour and the Greens disagree, they need to show the world how that’s possible, hence, show us your stack!

"As it stands, 21 percent of the energy we use comes from gas and coal, and crucially, those energy sources can run when households need them, not just when the weather conditions play ball.

“A cross-party accord on energy should deliver certainty for the future of each energy resource, be it solar, wind, oil, gas, or even nuclear. Certainty is most needed for those sectors struggling with regulatory-imposed scarcity, and those most threatened by changing political visions.

“ACT is asking Labour and the Greens to show us your energy stack. Show us how New Zealand can keep the lights on without natural gas, and if you accept that’s impossible, give the sector a commitment that exploration and investment can continue.

“Opposition parties may have a vision of some ‘ideal’ energy mix dominated by renewables, and that’s fine – but a cross-party consensus should also allow for the practical likelihood that New Zealand will, to some extent, continue to rely on non-renewables like gas to keep the heat on and factories running through our coldest weeks.”

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