2026 New Zealand election: Electricity, fuel and energy security

The central difference between the parties is how they believe New Zealand should achieve cheaper energy and a more reliable supply.

As at 31 October 2026, the main approaches are:

• National and ACT: Encourage private investment, build more generation and retain gas or LNG as backup.
• Labour: Help households reduce electricity bills through solar, strengthen consumer protections and provide some direct fuel-tax relief.
• Greens: Increase public ownership of electricity generation and accelerate renewable energy, storage and electrification.
• NZ First: Restructure electricity companies, explore domestic oil and gas and strengthen fuel security.
• Te Pāti Māori: Increase Māori and community ownership of renewable energy and strengthen local energy independence.

There is considerable agreement that New Zealand needs more electricity. The disagreement is over who should own it, how it should be generated, and how much government should intervene in prices. The politics of power: Comparing energy policies ahead of Election 2026Power Prices for 2026NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

1. What each party proposes

Party	Electricity prices	Petrol and diesel costs	Security of supply
National	More generation and competition; loans for household solar, batteries and insulation	No major direct petrol-price reduction promise identified in its main energy package	Supports domestic gas development and LNG imports as backup, alongside renewables
Labour	SolarSaver loans and subsidies; stronger action against electricity price gouging	Freeze fuel excise tax for three years; estimated average family saving of $520 a year by 2030	Supports renewables and household generation; proposes restoring the ban on new oil and gas exploration
Greens	Publicly owned Kiwipower to invest in generation; zero-interest household clean-energy loans	No equivalent general petrol-tax reduction identified in the policies reviewed	More renewable generation, batteries and public investment; opposes LNG imports
ACT	More private investment, competition and fewer regulatory barriers	No major direct pump-price reduction identified in its main energy proposals	Supports gas and LNG as backup while new generation is developed
NZ First	Separate electricity generation and retail businesses to increase competition	Remove the ETS charge on fuel; claims this would immediately reduce petrol by 12–14 cents per litre	More domestic oil and gas exploration, fuel reserves and development of Marsden Point
Te Pāti Māori	Stronger regulation of excessive prices and greater community ownership	No comparable nationwide petrol-tax reduction identified	Community-owned renewables, batteries and energy independence rather than LNG dependence
The Opportunities Party (TOP)	Focus on expanding energy supply and investment	No comparable major petrol-price measure identified	Supports greater energy investment and business electrification incentives

Sources: party announcements and policy comparisons. Power Prices for 2026Energy, climate and environment policy guideWe Want Cheaper Power And We Want Our People To Own It.NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026NZFirst to Remove Climate Tax From FuelThe politics of power: Comparing energy policies ahead of Election 2026

2. More detail on electricity prices

Here is what the major proposals mean in practice.

National: Build more electricity and encourage competition

Market-led approach

National's Electrify NZ 2.0 and wider energy package include:

• Faster approvals for wind, solar, hydro and other generation.
• More private investment in electricity generation and transmission.
• A Home Energy Fund offering long-term loans for solar panels, batteries, insulation and heat pumps.
• Allowing households to sell surplus solar electricity to the retailer offering the best price.
• LNG imports and domestic gas as backup when renewable generation is insufficient.

National also wants affordability to become an explicit objective for the Electricity Authority. Power Prices for 20262026 Election Policy

Labour: Help households generate their own electricity

Household affordability approach

Labour's headline proposal is its $160 million SolarSaver programme.

It would:

• Provide government-backed finance for solar panels and batteries.
• Offer eligible low- and middle-income households up to $3,000 in additional assistance.
• Help renters access plug-in solar.
• Support community batteries.
• Improve the payments households receive for exporting solar electricity.
• Make electricity price gouging illegal, with stronger Commerce Commission enforcement.

Labour estimates participating households could save around $1,000 annually on power bills. This is a party estimate, not a guaranteed saving for every household. Labour's Cost of Living PlanPower Prices for 2026

Greens: Establish a publicly owned electricity generator

Public ownership approach

The Greens' central proposal is Kiwipower, a publicly owned energy company.

It would:

• Invest in renewable electricity generation.
• Provide additional backup generation to address dry-year shortages.
• Help stabilise electricity supply and affordability.
• Support community-owned renewable projects.
• Offer zero-interest loans for household solar and batteries.
• Expand solar access for renters and public housing.

The Greens argue that the electricity market needs structural reform, rather than relying primarily on private generators to deliver affordable power. Power Prices for 2026NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

ACT: Remove barriers to private investment

ACT wants more generation and competition without breaking up the major electricity generator-retailers.

Its proposals include:

• Making it easier for private businesses to build generation and transmission infrastructure.
• Removing unnecessary barriers to small-scale solar.
• Encouraging investment in batteries and electricity storage.
• Supporting gas and LNG as transitional backup.
• Ensuring consumers are not burdened with unjustified network upgrade costs.

Power Prices for 2026NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

NZ First: Break up the major electricity companies

Structural market reform

NZ First wants to:

• Separate electricity generation companies from electricity retail companies.
• Increase competition in the electricity market.
• Invest in exploring New Zealand's oil, gas and geothermal resources.
• Establish a special economic zone at Marsden Point for energy-related development.
• Increase strategic fuel reserves.

The party argues that restructuring the electricity industry would improve competition and lower costs. Whether that would translate into lower household bills would depend on how the reforms worked in practice. Energy, climate and environment policy guideNZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

Te Pāti Māori: Energy sovereignty

Community ownership

Its September 2026 Energy Sovereignty policy proposes:

• A $1 billion Energy Sovereignty Fund.
• Investment in Māori and community-owned renewable energy.
• Stronger powers to address excessive electricity prices and profits.
• Fair payments for households and communities generating and storing electricity.
• A long-term national energy plan.

Its objective is to have more energy infrastructure owned by local communities, iwi, hapū and whānau. We Want Cheaper Power And We Want Our People To Own It.NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

3. What would happen to petrol and diesel prices?

This is an important distinction because electricity policy and transport fuel policy are not the same thing.

There are two particularly specific proposals:

Labour: Freeze fuel excise tax

$520

Estimated average family saving per year by 2030

• Freeze fuel excise tax for three years.
• Make excessive fuel pricing illegal.
• Require companies found to have overcharged customers to repay them.

Labour's Cost of Living PlanLabour's 2026 Election Policies

NZ First: Remove the ETS fuel charge

12–14c/L

Claimed immediate reduction in petrol and diesel prices

• Remove the Emissions Trading Scheme charge on petrol and diesel.
• NZ First says this would reduce petrol by 12 cents and diesel by 14 cents per litre.

This is the party's estimate, not an independently guaranteed reduction at the pump. NZFirst to Remove Climate Tax From FuelElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

For the other parties:

• National: Its principal energy policies focus on electricity affordability and security rather than a specific reduction in petrol taxes.
• ACT: Focuses on market competition and energy investment rather than a direct petrol-tax cut.
• Greens: Focus on reducing dependence on fossil fuels through public transport, renewable electricity and electrification.
• Te Pāti Māori: Focus on energy sovereignty and community-owned renewable energy rather than a specific nationwide petrol-tax reduction.

An important qualification: even if fuel taxes are reduced, international oil prices, the New Zealand dollar, shipping costs and distribution margins will continue to influence what motorists pay.

4. Which parties have different approaches to energy security?

This is arguably the biggest long-term policy disagreement.

New Zealand has a particular vulnerability: much of its electricity comes from hydro generation, meaning prolonged dry periods can reduce electricity availability and increase wholesale prices.

The parties have different ideas about how to deal with this.

National, ACT and NZ First

Retain or expand access to gas and other firm energy sources. National and ACT support LNG backup, while NZ First places greater emphasis on domestic oil and gas exploration and fuel reserves.

Labour and Greens

Place greater emphasis on renewable generation, solar, batteries and electrification. Labour would restore the oil and gas exploration ban; the Greens oppose LNG imports and propose public investment to improve dry-year security.

Te Pāti Māori

Prioritises community-owned renewable generation, energy storage and local energy independence rather than reliance on imported LNG.

The politics of power: Comparing energy policies ahead of Election 2026Power Prices for 2026We Want Cheaper Power And We Want Our People To Own It.NZ Political Party Energy Policies — 2026

5. Side-by-side summary

Issue	Main policy differences
Cheaper electricity	National and ACT favour competition and private investment; Labour favours household assistance and regulation; Greens favour public generation; NZ First favours restructuring; Te Pāti Māori favours community ownership.
Cheaper petrol	Labour proposes a fuel-tax freeze; NZ First proposes removing the ETS fuel charge.
Domestic gas	Supported by National, ACT and NZ First; Labour and Greens favour less reliance on new fossil-fuel development.
LNG imports	Supported by National and ACT; opposed by Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
Renewable energy	All parties recognise the importance of additional electricity supply, but differ on ownership, investment and the speed of transition.
Energy storage	Broad agreement on the value of batteries and storage, although approaches and funding differ.

6. What should voters look at when comparing these policies?

There are three useful questions to ask of every party.

1. Will my electricity bill actually fall? More generation does not automatically mean cheaper household electricity. Consider whether the party has a mechanism to pass savings through to consumers.

2. Will petrol and diesel become cheaper? Distinguish between a tax reduction and a promise to reduce the underlying international cost of fuel.

3. What happens during a dry year or an international fuel crisis? Consider whether the proposed mix of hydro, wind, solar, batteries, gas, LNG and fuel reserves can provide reliable supply.

One further distinction matters: a party's proposed policy is not the same as an implemented policy. Coalition negotiations, funding, legislation and infrastructure construction will affect what actually happens.

Sources for checking the policies

These are useful sources, including official party announcements and independent comparisons:

• MinterEllison – The politics of power: Comparing energy policies ahead of Election 2026 (21 October 2026).
• PowerCompare – What the major parties are promising on power and energy.
• Electrification NZ – 2026 party energy policy tracker.
• Labour – Cost of Living Plan.
• NZ First – Remove Climate Tax From Fuel.
• Te Pāti Māori – Energy Sovereignty policy.

A useful next comparison would be how these policies could affect an ordinary household's annual electricity and petrol bills.

Compare estimated annual household savings under each party