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New Zealand Energy Quarterly – March 2021

The New Zealand Energy Quarterly provides quarterly data and analysis on energy supply, demand and pricing across various commodities. This edition was released on 10 June 2020.

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March quarter

Main highlights for this quarter

  • The renewable share was 79 per cent, down from 81.9 this time last year.

  • The country was warm and dry as New Zealand continues to be influenced by a La Niña weather pattern. With below normal rainfall, hydro generation was down 9 per cent on the back of lower hydro lake storage levels and generators preparing for a drier than usual winter.

  • Lower hydro generation, coupled with a tight gas supply, saw higher coal imports to meet demand for electricity generation.

  • Gas production fell this quarter, down 18 per cent since March 2020, and 7 per cent since December 2020. At the same time gas storage levels at Ahuroa increased (up 1 PJ since December 2020 to 6.7 PJ).

  • Importation of coal was 0.3 million tonnes imported this quarter (up 25 per cent since March 2020, but down 21 per cent since December 2020). Coal used for primary electricity generation more than doubled.

  • Industrial electricity costs rose sharply, increasing by 17 per cent since year ended March 2020. Over the same period, residential electricity costs rose only 0.9 percent.

More information on the response to COVID-19 by the energy sector

For more detailed data, see the relevant page:

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Last updated: 10 September 2020

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