New Zealand’s National Party has announced Electrify NZ 2.0, a nine-point energy proposal aimed at the costs it says are contributing to power bills. It proposes changes to transmission, solar connections and exports, dry-year backup, renewable approvals, household energy loans and power for new AI data centres. These are proposals, not enacted measures: the announcement report provides no implementation timetable or independent estimate of bill savings.
What National’s nine-point plan proposes
The measures span the electricity system, from building infrastructure to how households can sell surplus power. Here is what each point would do as described in RNZ’s 2 October 2026 report.
- Unlock energy development zones: Allow developers, major energy users and investors to build transmission infrastructure and recover its costs from those who use it.
- Speed up connections: Let consumers choose an accredited contractor for a connection instead of being limited to the contractor assigned by their network.
- Expand power-buyer choice: Let households and businesses with solar panels or batteries sell generated power to any retailer or buyer they choose.
- Open the backup market: Address dry-year supply risk by levelling the playing field for backup power.
- Review lines charges and speed solar connections: Review rules for the revenue lines companies can recover, and require residential and small-business solar connections to be approved within two working days.
- Make affordability a core Electricity Authority objective: Put affordability into the regulator’s statutory objectives.
- Cut renewable-development red tape: Make it faster to build wind, solar and hydro projects.
- Create a Home Energy Fund and enable plug-in solar: Offer low-interest, long-term loans for households investing in their own power, and enable plug-in solar.
- Require new AI data centres to bring new firmed power: Require new data centres to provide firmed power, so National says new digital investment adds supply rather than pushing up prices.
The report says some elements—including the Home Energy Fund, Resource Management Act changes and the requirement for new AI data centres to provide firmed power—had already been announced separately. It does not set out the fund’s eligibility, loan amounts, rates, terms, launch date or administrator.
Why National says power bills need attention beyond electricity prices
National energy spokesperson Simeon Brown argues that renewable development has helped lower the price power companies pay for electricity, but says the wholesale price is only one part of a bill. He said: “But the price of electricity itself is only one part of a power bill. Lines charges, red tape, weak competition, and the cost of keeping the lights on in a dry year all add to what Kiwis pay. Our nine-point plan takes on each of them.”
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National’s policy document attributes around two-thirds of the rise in the average power bill to lines charges, according to RNZ. That is the party’s estimate as reported in the story; it is not an independently verified share, and it refers to the increase in the average bill—not two-thirds of the total bill.
National’s stated rationale is that the Commerce Commission last set the relevant cap in November 2024, when interest rates were high, and that the cap is locked in until 2030. The party argues that revenue-setting rules were designed for a one-way electricity system, whereas households can now generate, store and export power. Those are National’s arguments as reported by RNZ, not independent findings that the rules caused higher bills.
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What the announcement establishes—and what it does not
The two-working-day solar-connection approval target is a specific proposed requirement. The report does not explain how the deadline would be enforced or what would happen if an application needed more information. Likewise, the plan’s proposed choice of buyer for exported solar or battery power does not establish what prices or retailer offers would be available.
More broadly, the report provides no detailed implementation schedule, legislation or independent modelling of expected savings. National says measures would affect bills over different timeframes, but no quantified forecast is given. The announcement therefore describes intended policy changes, not a verified reduction in household costs or a program households can currently apply to.
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How Labour and ACT feature in the debate
Labour energy spokesperson Megan Woods dismissed the proposal, saying: “This is not a plan to bring power bills down. It’s an admission National hasn’t got a clue how to do it.” RNZ also reports Labour’s criticism that the plan offers reviews and working groups rather than immediate relief. These are Labour’s political arguments, not evidence of what the proposals would ultimately do.
RNZ says Electrify NZ 2.0 has substantial similarities to ACT’s electricity policy announced in September, particularly on private investors building transmission and households choosing who buys their generated power. The report offers only limited detail about ACT’s platform, so it does not support a full party-by-party comparison.
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What households should watch for next
For consumers, the most consequential details still to be established are the rules behind the proposed changes—not just the headline commitments:
- Whether legislation or regulatory changes will be introduced, and when.
- Who qualifies for the Home Energy Fund and what its loan conditions would be.
- How the two-working-day solar approval requirement would work in practice.
- How lines-company revenue rules and the backup-power market would change.
- What standards would define firmed power for new AI data centres.
Although the plan mentions plug-in solar, it does not establish whether any particular kit would qualify for funding, be compatible with a household’s setup or be permitted to connect. No consumer should infer eligibility or likely savings from the announcement alone.
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