Simeon Brown: Energy Minister on the Government's plan to boost energy supply and reduce power bills

The Energy Minister says the Government will make sure the energy sector is more competitive - and better for customers.

Cabinet has agreed to import more Liquefied Natural Gas and fast-track reforms to make it easier to build renewable energy farms in light of sky-high power prices pressuring big industry users.

Minister Simeon Brown says more competition and regular reporting will stop companies from price-gouging. 

"I share Shane Jones's concerns - I share his concerns around excessive prices and the impact that they're having."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ever do for the Ellen.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Back to the government's just announced energy package, Cabinet has
decided to fast track consents for an LNG storage facility
and then also overturn the oil and gas exploration ban
in a hurry by the end of this year. Energy
Minister Simeon Brown is with me right now.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hey, Simon, good evening.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
You're also planning to do a review of the electricity market. Now,
is this basically a market study?

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Well, it's not a market study, but it's ensuring that
the market settings are right for the changes that we're seeing,
which is obviously the reduction and gas supply but also
increasing intermittent resources, and to make sure that the regulators,
the Altriusty Authority and ComCom have the tools they need
to be able to make changes to keep it competitive,
affordable and secure.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Are you looking at whether they're profiteering or not.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well, ultimately what we want is more competition. That's the
way to ensure that we're not seeing excess profits. The
EA is also going to be ensuring that more regular
reporting of margins are in place. But we don't have
enough supply and we don't give it.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
I mean, I get the problem, but your mate Martaa.
Shane has come out and said that these guys, the
gentailers are profiteering. Are you now going to answer that
question with the study?

Speaker 1 (01:10):
What we're going to be doing is looking at the
market settings to make sure that EA in the ComCom
have the tools.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
That sounds no, that's in no way you're not looking
at whether they're profiteering.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Well, we are looking at as a separate piece of
work they are already undertaking to ensure that there isn't
price gouging happening. I share Shane Jones' concerns. I share
his concerns around excessive prices and the impact that they're having.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So are you saying because the EA is already looking
into it, it doesn't need to be looked into.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Again, Well, they need to do that job to ensure
that the current what's happening right now, with the high
prices we're facing, we're not seeing We don't want us
to be seeing price gouging. But I also want to
make sure that they have the tools to enable a
more competitive market because competition ensures that we don't see
price gouging. Competition means we get more generation, Competition means

(01:59):
we have more supply and competition is good for consuming.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
So the competition, the competition aspect is that you allowing
the lines companies to be able to build more generation.
Would that increase the competition?

Speaker 1 (02:10):
That is absolutely one of the one of the elements.
And also about resilience because you go into some of
the more remote parts of the country where it's Northland, Corimandel,
the West Coast, the transmission costs to put new transmission
lines in is incredibly expensive and so having more resilience
by having more generation onto those lines companies' assets helps
to make it helps to reduce the cost of more

(02:33):
generation as well. So that part of increasing competition but
also increasing resilience.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Who's going to build the LNG facility. Who's interested?

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Well, it's been significant interests from a range of parties.
Some of those parties obviously already own assets in New Zealand.
The Gas Industry Company, which is the body which regulates
the gas market in New Zealand, they are going to
be coordinating that work. Our job is to get rid
of all of the regulatory barriers as quickly as we
can and give confidence for those investors to be able

(03:02):
to come and invest in that infrastructure. So we can
get that gas into New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
How quickly can you do it?

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Well, the advice I've received, our expectation is the latest
is winter twenty twenty six. That's the latest the advices
there are options to do that faster.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Saying that, are you saying you're only going to be
able to issue the consent and winter twenty six?

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh no, no, that is the latest to actually have
that gas flowing into New Zealand. In terms of the consent,
we're said, we're going to put specific legislation to Parliament
to legislate that consent because we want to give absolute
certainty that this government will remove those regulatory barriers so
that those investment decisions can be made as quickly as possible.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
So, men, how much more expensive is alan G flowing
through my pipe than the indigenous gas I've got at
the moment?

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well, the spot price for your indigenous gas and then
going to market it's over fifty dollars a giga duel
and LNG's between seventeen and twenty one. So it's acually
cheap to bring an LNGS into the spot market in
New Zealand, but typically New Zealand guests is cheaper than
L and G, so ultimately this is about making sure
we've got the supply and that price will ultimately determine

(04:13):
where it's coming from.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Okay, hey, thank you, Simin, really appreciate your time. That
Simmy and Brown the Energy Minister. For more from Heather
Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks. It'd be
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