2026 New Zealand election: Which parties have the best plans for your café's electricity costs?

With food prices and electricity bills squeezing your margins, customers spending less, and a break-in adding to your costs, it's understandable that you want to know which political party would make running your café more affordable.

The key difference in the 2026 election is how parties propose to bring electricity prices down: some want to increase supply and competition, while others want stronger government involvement in the electricity market. There are also differences in how they would regulate electricity lines companies and help businesses generate their own power.

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for 7 November 2026. All the major parties recognise electricity affordability as an issue, but their proposed solutions differ significantly. minterellison.co.nz, powercompare.co.nz

For your café, I'll focus on what the policies could mean for a small business paying commercial electricity rates, rather than household power bills.

1. What the major parties would do about electricity costs

National: Increase supply, competition and consumer choice

New Zealand National Party

National's proposed energy policy, Electrify NZ 2.0, focuses on making electricity more affordable by increasing generation, encouraging investment and improving competition.

Its nine-point plan includes:

• Reviewing electricity lines charges to address the costs of transporting electricity.
• Making affordability a core objective for the Electricity Authority, alongside competition, reliability and efficiency.
• Allowing small businesses with solar panels or batteries to sell surplus electricity to any retailer, rather than just their existing electricity supplier.
• Speeding up approvals for small-business solar connections, with a proposed two-working-day approval requirement.
• Making it easier and faster to build renewable generation, including wind, solar and hydro.
• Improving competition in the market for backup electricity generation to reduce the risks associated with dry years.

What this could mean for your café: If your electricity bill is high because of network charges, National's proposed review could be relevant. If you own your premises and can install solar panels, you could potentially reduce your reliance on grid electricity and sell surplus power.

The main limitation is that National is not promising a specific reduction in commercial electricity bills. Its approach relies on reforms and increased supply bringing costs down over time. national.org.nz

Read the party's full policy: National's affordable power plan.

Labour: Crack down on overcharging and make solar more accessible

New Zealand Labour Party

Labour's electricity policy combines stronger consumer protections with government-backed financing for solar energy.

Its proposals include:

• Making electricity price gouging illegal and requiring companies found to have overcharged customers to pay them back.
• Offering government-backed, low-interest SolarSaver loans to help people install solar panels and batteries without paying the full cost upfront.
• Providing eligible low- and middle-income households with additional support for solar installation.
• Allowing renters to benefit from plug-in solar.
• Taking action against unfair pricing by large companies.

What this could mean for your café: Labour's approach could help if you can reduce your electricity consumption by generating your own power. Its proposal to tackle electricity overcharging may also be relevant, although it would not automatically entitle your café to a refund simply because your bills have increased.

An important distinction is that Labour's advertised SolarSaver savings are based on household estimates. Don't assume your café would qualify for the same assistance or achieve the same savings. The eligibility rules for a commercial premises need to be checked. labour.org.nz, labour.org.nz

Read more: Labour's cost-of-living and electricity plan.

The Green Party: More public ownership and community-generated renewable electricity

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

The Greens argue that the existing electricity market is not delivering affordable power reliably enough. Their plan would give the government a more active role in the electricity sector.

Key proposals include:

• Establishing Kiwipower, a publicly owned electricity generation company intended to improve affordability and security of supply.
• Offering zero-interest clean-energy loans for solar panels and batteries.
• Investing $200 million in community-owned renewable energy projects.
• Expanding access to solar generation and making it easier for renters to use plug-in solar.
• Increasing renewable electricity generation and addressing the risk of electricity shortages during dry years.

What this could mean for your café: The Greens' approach could benefit your business if greater public investment and additional renewable generation lead to more affordable electricity. Financing for solar and batteries could also be attractive if an eligible scheme were available to your business.

However, the proposed public generation company would take time to establish, and the policy does not guarantee an immediate reduction in your café's electricity bill. The availability of zero-interest financing for a commercial premises should also be verified rather than assumed. greens.org.nz

Read more: The Greens' electricity affordability plan.

ACT: Put more pressure on lines companies and increase private investment

ACT New Zealand

ACT argues that electricity prices will fall when businesses can access more supply and stronger competition. It opposes breaking up the large electricity companies, preferring to strengthen competition rules and encourage investment.

Its proposed measures include:

• Requiring lines companies to justify their charges and demonstrate value for consumers.
• Allowing private investors to build and operate additional electricity transmission infrastructure.
• Making it easier for businesses to choose qualified contractors for electricity connection work.
• Allowing businesses with solar panels and batteries to sell surplus electricity more freely.
• Encouraging investment in new electricity generation and technologies that could reduce the need for expensive network upgrades. z-umbraco-nzb-frontend-lin-as-ae-pr.azurewebsites.net, minterellison.co.nz

What this could mean for your café: ACT's proposals could help if network charges are a major part of your electricity costs. Its approach could also make installing solar or other on-site generation more attractive.

However, like National, ACT is relying on market competition and investment rather than promising a specific cut to your electricity bill.

Read more: ACT's electricity policy coverage.

New Zealand First: Break up the major electricity companies

New Zealand First

NZ First proposes a more fundamental restructuring of the electricity market.

Its policy would:

• Separate the major electricity companies' generation and retail businesses.
• Change market arrangements that it argues allow large electricity companies to keep prices high.
• Introduce long-term, fixed-price contracts for new electricity generation projects.
• Encourage new generation and competition from independent electricity retailers.
• Allow people generating solar electricity to sell it back to the grid at the same price they pay for electricity.

The party argues that separating electricity generation from retailing would make it easier for independent retailers to compete. nzfirst.nz

What this could mean for your café: If the restructuring leads to more competitive commercial electricity plans, your café could benefit from lower prices or better contract options.

The uncertainty is that breaking up major electricity companies is a substantial structural change. The effects on prices, competition and investment would depend on how the reforms were implemented.

Read more: NZ First's policy to break up the major electricity companies.

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2. How do the policies compare for a small café?

Here's a practical comparison of the main approaches.

What matters to your café	National	Labour	Greens	ACT	NZ First
Addressing electricity network charges	Targeted review of lines charges	Crackdown on electricity price gouging	Stronger public involvement in the energy sector	Greater scrutiny of lines-company charges	Broader electricity market restructuring
Encouraging more electricity generation	More private investment and faster approvals	Solar financing and additional renewable energy	Publicly owned generation and community renewables	More private investment and competition	New generation and changes to market incentives
Help with solar or batteries	Easier connections and greater choice for selling surplus power	Government-backed SolarSaver proposal; commercial eligibility needs checking	Proposed zero-interest clean-energy loans; commercial eligibility needs checking	Easier investment and connections	More opportunities to sell surplus electricity
Direct reduction in commercial electricity bills promised?	No specific reduction guaranteed	No specific reduction guaranteed	No specific reduction guaranteed	No specific reduction guaranteed	No specific reduction guaranteed
Main approach	Competition and supply	Consumer protections and financing	Public ownership and renewable investment	Private investment and competition	Structural market reform

This comparison reflects the parties' announced policies as summarised by legal firm MinterEllisonRuddWatts in its October 2026 election energy policy review. The table simplifies their proposals and does not mean each party has identical policies across all these areas. minterellison.co.nz, minterellison.co.nz, minterellison.co.nz

Which approach is most relevant to your situation?

I'd focus on three questions.

1. Do you want lower electricity bills through competition, or stronger government intervention?

• National and ACT put more emphasis on competition, investment and electricity supply.
• Labour emphasises consumer protection and action against overcharging.
• The Greens favour greater public ownership and investment in renewable electricity.
• NZ First wants to restructure the major electricity companies.

These are different routes to the same stated objective: more affordable electricity.

2. Could solar panels or batteries reduce your operating costs?

If you own your café premises, or have a landlord willing to invest, solar could potentially reduce the electricity you purchase from the grid.

National's proposed faster connection approvals and greater choice in selling surplus power are relevant here. Labour's and the Greens' proposed financing schemes are also worth investigating, but you should check whether commercial premises qualify.

If you rent your premises, installation rights and the landlord's willingness to invest could matter more immediately than the national energy policy.

3. Do you need relief now, or are you prepared to wait for longer-term changes?

Most of these policies depend on changes to regulation, investment or electricity infrastructure. They are not immediate guarantees of lower bills.

For a café operating on tight margins, the distinction between a policy that might reduce electricity prices over several years and one that reduces your actual costs this year is particularly important.

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3. What about your food costs, declining customer spending and the break-in?

Electricity is only one part of the pressure you're facing.

I'd consider the wider small-business policies alongside each party's energy proposals.

• Food costs: Labour has proposed increasing competition in the grocery market by changing wholesale supply arrangements and tackling price gouging. This could be relevant if you're struggling with the prices charged by major suppliers, although it won't necessarily reduce your café's wholesale food costs. labour.org.nz
• Customers spending less: Policies affecting household disposable income, employment and the cost of living could indirectly influence how much people spend at cafés. The actual effect would depend on economic conditions and whether the policies are implemented successfully.
• The break-in: Electricity policy won't directly address this. You may also want to compare parties' law-and-order policies, including their proposals on policing, burglary and repeat offending.
• Business cash flow: Labour has announced a Small Business Action Plan that includes getting small businesses paid sooner, easier ways to invest and less paperwork. National has also announced a small-business support plan. Whether these measures would materially help your café depends on your circumstances. labour.org.nz, national.org.nz

Given your situation, I'd be careful not to judge parties solely on their headline electricity promises. The overall effect on your operating costs, cash flow and customers matters more than any single announcement.

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4. My practical recommendation before you vote

Rather than trying to predict which party will deliver the lowest electricity prices, I'd compare their proposals against your café's actual bills.

Here are four steps I'd take:

1. Check your electricity bill breakdown. Separate electricity usage charges, daily fixed charges and network charges where possible. This helps identify which proposed policies might actually affect your costs.

2. Review your current electricity contract. Compare your existing rates with alternative business electricity offers. You don't need to wait for the election to investigate whether a better commercial deal is available.

3. Check whether solar is viable. If you own the premises, ask for a commercial solar assessment. If you rent, find out whether your landlord would consider installing solar and how the savings could be shared.

4. Compare the policies against your priorities. Decide how much weight to give immediate business support, electricity-market reform, food costs, crime prevention and the broader economy.

For a useful independent overview of the energy policies, see MinterEllisonRuddWatts' 2026 election energy comparison.

My bottom line

If your main concern is electricity costs, National and ACT offer the clearest emphasis on competition, electricity connections and network charges. Labour offers a stronger emphasis on price-gouging protections and financing for solar. The Greens favour public investment in renewable generation, while NZ First proposes a major restructuring of the electricity market.

That is a comparison of their approaches, not a prediction that one will necessarily deliver the lowest bills.

For your café, the most important question is which policies are likely to reduce your actual commercial electricity costs, and how soon. None of these parties has guaranteed a particular reduction in your bill.

One final point: election promises can change during coalition negotiations, and the measures ultimately implemented may differ from the policies announced during the campaign. bdo.nz