ACT wants to open more of New Zealand’s electricity system to private investment and competition, arguing greater consumer choice and new technology are the keys to bringing down power costs.
Energy and Resources spokesperson Simon Court says ACT’s Election 2026 energy policy would target both electricity generation and the networks responsible for moving power around the country.
One proposal would allow households generating electricity from solar panels or batteries to sell their surplus power to a different company from the retailer they buy electricity from, rather than being tied to a single provider.
The Electricity Authority has already been developing a multiple-trading-relationships system that would enable consumers to have separate contracts for buying electricity and selling surplus generation, with the regulator saying greater choice could improve returns from rooftop solar and batteries.
ACT also wants private investors to be able to build, own and operate new transmission infrastructure connected to the national grid, provided common technical and reliability standards are met.
Another proposal would allow qualified providers to compete to undertake customer-funded connection work for new homes, subdivisions, factories and renewable generation projects. The Electricity Authority has separately introduced new network connection rules intended to improve consistency and transparency, with distributed-generation changes beginning in December.
ACT says electricity lines companies should also have to consider whether batteries, flexible connections or demand-response technology could solve network constraints more cheaply before consumers are charged for expensive new lines.
Court argues New Zealand’s high electricity costs are fundamentally a supply and investment problem and says ACT would favour increased generation, easier investment and stronger competition rather than restructuring major electricity companies. That position is consistent with ACT’s recent criticism of government-funded energy schemes and its call for easier investment in generation and grid connections.
The Electricity Authority has also been changing rules around local generation, including new export limits intended to allow more electricity from household solar and batteries onto local networks while maintaining network reliability.
For households struggling with power bills, however, the test of any reform will be straightforward — does more competition and investment ultimately translate into cheaper, more reliable electricity at home?
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