New Zealand Energy Quarterly
The New Zealand Energy Quarterly provides quarterly data and analysis on energy supply, demand, prices and associated greenhouse gas emissions. This page has the current edition.
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Current Energy Quarterly publication
The current edition of Energy Quarterly is for the October to December quarter (Q4) 2024. It was released on 13 March 2025. The next Energy Quarterly will be released on 12 June 2025.
Main highlights for this quarter
- Lower demand from industrial energy users saw energy use down across most energy types in the December 2024 quarter compared to the same quarter in 2023. Lower electricity use by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, following its demand response agreement with Meridian being called on in the September 2024 quarter, contributed to a 9% year-on-year fall in electricity demand from the industrial sector.
- With lower electricity demand, total electricity generation fell to its lowest level for a December quarter since 2016. Following historical lows seen in the September 2024 quarter, hydro storage in both islands returned to above historic mean levels. Hydro generation increased 12.45% from the September 2024 quarter, bringing it up to a similar level as the December 2023 quarter. This was bolstered by new geothermal and solar capacity coming online during the December 2024 quarter.
- With lower electricity demand and higher generation from renewables, there was a lesser need for gas- and coal-fired generation. Gas generation fell 29.9% year-on-year, while coal fired generation fell 64.1% this quarter. As a result, the renewable share of generation increased to 94.3% this quarter, the 4th highest quarter on record, with emissions from electricity generation falling to the lowest quarterly level on record.
- Unplanned outages at the Kupe field, and lower deliveries from the Pohokura and Maui fields, contributed to a 23% decrease in net gas production from the December 2023 quarter. Net gas production was 26.16 PJ for this quarter, the lowest since the December 1983 quarter. The December 2024 quarter saw a continuation in lower gas use, with Methanex’s temporary idling of its manufacturing operations (from mid-August until the end of the October 2024) contributing to a 32% year-on-year decrease in total gas use.
- Coal consumption continued trending down in most sectors, including in major industrial sectors such as dairy product manufacturing. Consumption of oil products was relatively unchanged from the December 2023 quarter, with the only exception being aviation fuel use for international transport which increased 4% year-on-year. Petrol and diesel imports were down slightly, 4% and 9% respectively, but aviation fuel imports were up 19%.
Read the summary for this quarter
New Zealand Energy Quarterly December 2024 summary
Read the media release for this quarter
High share of quarterly renewable electricity generation as industrial demand for electricity fell
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Previous Energy Quarterly editions
You can view previous years' editions of the New Zealand Energy Quarterly here.
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Last updated: 13 March 2025