Background
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In August 2023, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) opened public consultation on the Measures for transition to an expanded and highly renewable electricity system discussion document.
We received 80 written submissions on the discussion document. The submissions reflect the view of a wide range of interested stakeholders across academia, iwi, consumer groups, generators, retailers, and industrial users. A full list of submitters is included in Annex 1.
The discussion document explored approaches to ensure New Zealand’s electricity system is affordable, reliable, and resilient while we transition to an expanded and more highly renewable system. As shown by Table 1 below, key issues explored were grouped into growing renewable generation, competitive markets, networks for the future, responsive demand and smarter systems, and whole of system considerations.
Table 1: Overview of Measures for transition to an expanded and highly renewable electricity system discussion document
| Part 1: Growing renewable generation | Ensuring sufficient renewable generation is built and that fossil fuel generation will be replaced in a way that maintains security, reliability and affordability, including ensuring sufficient firm capacity during transition. Also considers the role of large-scale flexibility to provide demand response |
| Part 2: Competitive markets | Competition issues that may arise in the electricity market during the transition away from fossil fuels and increasing reliance on hydro with storage for firm capacity. |
| Part 3: Networks for the future | How we ensure sufficient transmission and distribution investment to support a larger share of renewable electricity generation and greater reliance on electricity. Includes considering whether regulator objectives adequately reflect government sustainability goals. |
| Part 4: Responsive demand and smarter systems | Issues relating to increased distributed flexibility including opportunities to utilise smarter systems that will improve electricity system reliability, resilience, and affordability |
| Part 5: Whole of system considerations | Whether there is a role for more coordination across the electricity system as a whole and reviews the need for prioritisation by government. |
The discussion document was published as part of a package of consultation documents on New Zealand’s energy transition:
- Gas Transition Plan issues paper,
- Interim Hydrogen Roadmap,
- Implementation and design of a ban on new fossil-fuel baseload electricity generation and
- Developing a regulatory framework for offshore renewable energy.
Summaries of submissions for the other consultations can be found on our website:
Interim hydrogen roadmap: Public consultation submissions summary
This is a summary of the submissions MBIE received on Measures for transition to an expanded and highly renewable electricity system, including some of the key themes and issues raised by submitters. It draws on the comments made by submitters but does not reflect every comment made by each submitter.