Greens promise $980m public power company to cut bills and boost renewables

The Green Party has unveiled plans for a new publicly owned electricity company, with a proposed $980 million four-year appropriation, as part of an election policy aimed at cutting power bills and expanding renewable energy.

The party launched its energy policy at Dunedin’s Gasworks Museum today, with co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick announcing plans to establish Kiwipower, a publicly owned Crown entity that would invest in renewable generation and electricity security.

The party says the $980m appropriation would be funded through its proposed tax on the super-rich.

“The Greens will lower bills, cut emissions and put power back in the hands of New Zealanders,” Swarbrick said.

“That means warmer Kiwi homes, community-owned power, solar on rooftops and a new generation company, designed to solve our dry-year problem, owned by New Zealanders: Kiwipower.”

The policy includes zero-interest clean energy loans for households installing solar panels and batteries, a “renters’ right to solar” and plans to legalise plug-in solar systems.

The Greens say a fully electric home with solar panels could save up to $1000 a year on power bills, including the cost of paying off the solar system.

The party says plug-in solar systems could save renters up to $350 a year.

The party is also promising $200m for community-owned renewable energy projects and says solar panels would be installed on more than half of public homes within four years.

The policy says that would include around 40,000 public homes, with solar also rolled out across hundreds of Māori housing projects through an $80m renewable energy fund.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said the plan would allow communities to share in the benefits of renewable energy.

“We will invest $200 million in community-owned renewable energy, solar on your local school, marae, papakāinga or library, with the benefits flowing back to your community,” she said.

The Greens also announced an $80m investment in renewable energy for Māori housing, saying tangata whenua (Māori) were more likely to experience energy hardship.

Swarbrick said the current electricity market was failing households, with four major electricity companies controlling most of the retail market.

“200,000 households are unable to afford to heat their homes, while four big power companies control over 85% of the market and rake in massive profits,” she said.

The party identifies Meridian, Genesis, Mercury and Contact as the four major electricity companies and says they control more than 85% of both the generation and retail markets.

The party’s announcement comes as the Government considers options for securing electricity supply during dry years, including the potential use of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Swarbrick criticised that approach, saying it would lock New Zealand into fossil fuels.

“Gas belongs in a museum,” she said.

“But [Prime Minister Christopher] Luxon’s Government wants to lock us into 15 more years of imported fossil fuels and higher prices with their expensive LNG terminal. That is a choice – and it is the wrong one.”

The Green Party says Kiwipower would focus on renewable “firming” capacity, including geothermal, batteries, demand response, biomass and pumped hydro, to provide back-up when hydro lakes are low or wind generation drops.

The policy proposes Kiwipower would also contract existing back-up capacity from electricity companies and make it available to independent generators, retailers and energy users at “fair, affordable and transparent prices”.

The Greens said the policy would be funded through changes to tax settings, including making corporations and wealthy New Zealanders “pay their fair share”.

The party’s costings estimate the wider energy package would involve about $2.1 billion in operating expenditure and about $1b in capital spending through to 2031.

Ben Tomsett is a journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.