National's power plan: no LNG contract before election, and a rule the regulator once shelved

National says no contract for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal will be signed before the election, a shift from what Energy Minister Simeon Brown said earlier. He made the comment at the launch of the party's nine-point energy plan on Friday, which also promises faster solar approvals, a review of lines charges and low-interest loans for household power upgrades.

What happened

The plan is called Electrify NZ 2.0. Brown says it is built around more supply, more competition and more choice for consumers. Its nine measures include letting developers, major users and investors build transmission and recover the cost from those who use it, a market for backup power to cover dry years, and making affordability a legal objective for the Electricity Authority.

Residential and small business solar connections would have to be approved within two working days. Households could sell power they generate from solar or batteries to any power company, not only the one they buy from. A Home Energy Fund would offer low-interest, long-term loans for solar, batteries and plug-in solar. National first announced that fund in June, saying the loans would be repaid through rates.

On lines charges, Brown said they made up about two-thirds of the rise in the average power bill over the past year. He said they are set under an outdated law that National would review and change before the next price reset.

The LNG shift

Asked about the Government's plan for an LNG import facility, Brown said the procurement process was still going but no contract would be signed before the election. He had previously suggested a contract could be signed before then. The coalition partners ACT and NZ First have both voiced objections to an election-period signing, and ACT leader David Seymour has said it would be irresponsible.

A rule already looked at

The policy would direct the Electricity Authority to allow "multi-trading", so a household could sell surplus power to a different company from the one that supplies it. Stuff pointed out at the press conference that the authority had consulted on the idea before and decided not to proceed because of its complexity and the cost of putting it in place. Brown said National would direct the authority to go ahead anyway, because "customers have choices" was the priority.

What it means for you

Power bills have been one of the main cost-of-living pressures of this term. If you own your home and have the cash flow to repay a loan, cheap finance for solar or a battery could lower your bills over time. Faster connection approvals would shorten the wait for people installing panels.

The lines charges review is the measure aimed at everyone, because those charges sit in every bill. But a review brings no cut by itself, and any change would come only at the next price reset. No contract for LNG before the election means a decision on that project, and the cost of it, falls to whoever forms the next government.

Renters, about a third of households, can only benefit from some of these measures if their landlord takes them up. Labour's Megan Woods raised that point about a similar National loan policy earlier.

What the other parties say

Labour's energy spokesperson Megan Woods called the plan "more reviews, more deregulation and more promises to fix things later". She said it admitted National had failed to manage the energy sector after three years in government.

Other parties have their own offers. Labour wants $3000 solar panel subsidies for low and middle-income families plus low-interest loans. The Greens want zero-interest solar loans, money to move 50,000 homes off gas and a Crown entity, Kiwi Power, to build backup generation. ACT wants households to sell power to any company and private firms allowed to run power lines. Te Pāti Māori wants a $1 billion fund for Māori and community ownership of the energy system.

What to watch

Supporters say the plan targets the biggest driver of this year's bill rise and speeds up solar. Critics say a review is not a price cut and the plan gives no saving per household or date for lower bills. The LNG decision now falls to whoever forms the next government, and renters can only benefit from some measures if their landlord takes them up. The question for every party's energy plan is the same: by how much, and by when.