\u201cBut we need to ask much harder questions about whether all 28 electricity distribution businesses [EDB] are operating as efficiently as possible, whether investment is delivering value for money, and whether consumers are getting a fair deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want more affordable electricity, improving network efficiency has to be part of the answer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Commerce Commission-sanctioned increases in transmission and distribution charges started in 2025 and will keep rising until 2030 in order to fund more investment in the network.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2019s latest March-quarter energy report said average electricity costs faced by households increased 11.7% on the March 2025 quarter, driven primarily by increased network charges.<\/p>\n
The MEUG is calling on political parties to empower the Commerce Commission to benchmark EDB performance when setting price-quality paths, including comparisons with other networks and international best practice.<\/p>\n
It also wants minimum performance standards for all EDBs, regardless of their ownership structure, with underperforming networks subject to greater scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses operating across New Zealand need greater consistency,\u201d Boyes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be harder or more expensive to do business simply because you are connected to one network rather than another.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MEUG is also calling for a review of the Commerce Act\u2019s regulatory framework governing Transpower and EDBs, examining how network investment is funded, particularly where networks are investing ahead of demand, as well as the returns available to regulated electricity monopolies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to get the balance right between investing for the future and making sure today\u2019s consumers aren\u2019t carrying an unfair share of the cost,\u201d Boyes said.<\/p>\n
Alongside network reform, the MEUG said action was needed to ensure New Zealand had sufficient firming capacity to maintain electricity security during dry years.<\/p>\n
Boyes said the country could not rely on a single solution to solve New Zealand\u2019s dry-year electricity challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means looking at a range of options, including the role of lake storage, strengthening demand response and investigating a firming and flexibility market to incentivise investment and lower barriers to entry,\u201d Boyes said.<\/p>\n
Demand response deals \u2013 when users agree to cut back on consumption when conditions are tight \u2013 have become part of the equation.<\/p>\n
There are dozens of EDBs in New Zealand and the debate has been about whether there should be fewer of them.<\/p>\n
In July, Energy Minister Simeon Brown said he expected<\/a> electricity distribution businesses to address what he saw as \u201cchallenges of scale and fragmentation\u201d but said forced amalgamation was not on the table.<\/p>\n Last week, an industry group called the Energy Transition Framework said more Government involvement in the energy sector was needed<\/a> to prevent \u201csignificant economic harm\u201d from declining domestic gas reserves.<\/p>\n