LNG imports to help secure affordable energy

Speaking at the Auckland Business Chamber today, Energy Minister Simeon Brown confirmed that the Government is committed to the LNG import facility procurement process, and the Government has shortlisted to two potential providers.

Both providers are proposing solutions located at Port Taranaki. The Government expects to identify a preferred provider later this year, and the import facility could be operational by 2028.

While New Zealand is on a significant renewable energy trajectory, the Government has confirmed that imported LNG is still the fastest, cheapest and most flexible source of back-up energy to keep the lights on when we need a back-up to weather dependent-renewable energy. Officials' analysis confirms that the conflict in the Middle East has not changed that. Given the urgent state of New Zealand’s declining domestic natural gas supply, the next dry year without LNG will bring higher power bills, potential factory closures and job losses, and rolling blackouts across the country.

Since the Government announced the LNG import facility in February 2026, wholesale electricity prices for 2028 and 2029 have fallen by around $20/MWh, delivering savings of up to $800 million a year that will flow through to Kiwi households and businesses.

The import facility will no longer be funded by a levy. Instead, the Government is working through the details of a new funding model guided by the principle that responsibility for delivering secure and affordable energy sits with the electricity sector. Furter details on the funding model will be shared in due course.

Learn more about why New Zealand needs LNG:

Read the Minister’s Press Release:

Securing Affordable Energy: LNG to keep the lights on and protect jobs(external link)