Moving towards more electrification

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) has welcomed the Government’s response to the Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on accelerated electrification.

BEC Chair David Caygill says the Interim Committee has worked transparently and signaled clearly its progress with key stakeholders, and the energy sector would want the soon-to-be-established climate change commission to continue this.

"We welcome the Government’s statement that it will be pragmatic about achieving the aspirational goal of 100% renewable electricity in an average rainfall year.

"The ICCC confirmed that chasing the last few percent of renewables would be expensive for consumers and that it would be more efficient to reduce energy sector emissions rather than electricity sector emissions.

"Ongoing changes in energy markets suggest we should be cautious in making policy. The future energy supply chain will be more interconnected than it is today, changing the incentives for consumption and investment, and there is uncertainty around when new technologies might emerge.

"While governments can express aspirations for various parts of the system, any actions which are likely to change incentives in that part, in isolation, should be approached with caution.

"We have long advocated for the ‘energy trilemma’ as an effective organising principle for trade-offs between affordability, security of supply and environmental sustainability, and we are delighted to see this reflected in the Government’s response.

"New Zealand has a strong reputation to maintain in terms of its trilemma performance and we look forward to working closely with the Government as it undertakes its five yearly reviews."

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