Yeah the government was warned-Max Bradford-at the time in the 1990s by experts NOT to privatise the electricity sector.The government at the time ignored it but claimed cheaper, more efficient services??? The result is similar to NZ Rail-private companies are interested primarily in there own profit not developing long term sustainable inferstructure-or the wellbeing(and long term cost) of our society as a whole.Indeed the existential climate situation isn't talked about enough, but climate is speaking nevertheless.This is why having strategic planning is so important including bi-partisan agreements-eg the I-Rex ferries(using 40% less diesel than conventual ferries) cancellation is a prime example of insane political decision making on a whim-eg ask Main-Freight-they weren't consulted about the cancellation-see further the story in the NBR and NZ Herald-the new I-Rex ferries were designed to provide efficient transition of rail and truck freight;-the amount of wasted money is once again sickening.
A competitive market is always good. Too many example for this to need proving - would you rather a Toyota or a Lada? A state owned one might keep prices low but will inevitably distort the market with worse long term consequences.
@@AtCheruti National has proved that breaking up the power industry and selling off half of it had far worse long term consequences. We were better off with the power industry being state-owned and run. We could have had ferries specifically built for Aotearoa NZ's conditions, the equivalent of a Ferrari, but Nicola Willis scrapped it for a Toyota Corolla which will cost us more.
The local water done well just means raise the debt ceiling and pass the cost directly to the ratepayers who it seems have bottomless pockets. And so many people voted for this 🤬
Have we listen to this before with banking building materials petrol groceries and now power. All talk no reduction in prices to consumers. Higher tax take from government
'not enough competition' is the corporate-friendly way of saying that corporations are price gouging. It's basically painting a picture that it's not the corporations fault for high prices but it's the fault of others letting them get away with it.
Simeon Brown wants councils to charge for any services that aren't for core public good. This includes water. So the little weasel is going to add a bunch of user pays charges. Not taxes, not rates, but trust me, we'll all be paying more. He is a smirking creep.
It always seems to be National party MP's which make the big mistakes. John Key is another great example. Look at our banking system and state housing thanks to him..
As a pensioner I now know what it is to freeze in winter. My daily rate charge in under two years has gone from 33 cents per day, to 60, to 90 - and that's before any power is used!
Wish Tame asked Brown why do we even have local governments and why does the mandate of central government supersede the policy mandates local government are elected on? And on Maori wards, would Brown be ok introducing referendums on central government policy even if that goes against what they campaigned on?
Don't need more competition, Need more investment money to build more energy supply. The investment money could have came from the NZ owned power stations. Instead the government at the time sold 49% of the shares, And if i recalled right it was sold at a price loss.
@@jasonpoihegatama1347 The Nats just about cancelled all labours projects or they placed them on hold the workforce has moved off shore or are about to. Next thing you know the NATs will get a Chinese loan and we'll become part of China. Poor Winston can't even speak te reo he'll have a heart attack if he has to learn Chinese.
@@BamBam-uf4yi The lake Onslow project. This was the only energy project Labour had in place and this was at a very high cost. But i don't know how a small lake can produce much power if any at all im not going to lie.
As a consumer, the electricity bill continues to rise. If the energy companies can make so much profit. A fair question is whether they overcharged the consumer.
The idea that this govt likes localism is so funny to me. Literally every policy they have regarding local govt is anti-localism. And the fast track legislation essentially silences local voices. It can be argued that that is a good thing, but don't call yourself a dog when you obviously are a horse.
This exhausting to listen to. Simeon Brown . For God's sake answer the questions . So sick of hearing the fall back position " blame the previous government." It's hard to have any confidence that Brown and Co can deliver on anything.
Despite earning $7.6 billion in net profit after tax, the NZ electricity industry has paid out $10.8 billion to shareholders - including excess dividends of $4.2 billion - over the decade since the Key government's partial privatisation of Genesis, Mercury and Meridian. During this time, national generating capacity has increased by only one percent”, said FIRST Union Researcher and Policy Analyst Edward Miller.
Simeon is typical of the idealogical bleat that it will succeed when we do it properly! 14 years of neoliberalism in the UK has broken that country, now we are being asked to follow !!
@@A_kiwis_view I tend to agree, but as a society we are thirstier than ever for electricity not to mention electrifying transport , industry, new loads like data centers etc. whatcha gonna do 🤷. Even if the energy itself was free (at the generators terminals) our power bills would only drop by 30-40% due to lines charges, retail margins, etc how will that news go down?
@@pointlinesquare its a bit different when its a commercial entity that needs to generate profit. the flaw in privatising things like power and healthcare is that they have to be profitable so their is always a layer of fat you have to pay on top so some bloke on a board gets a nice holiday. theres no reason why the government cant operate things at a loss if it means the consumer is saving money, its not like that money isn't going to be spent elsewhere.
NZ should triple its wind generation for 100% renewable electricity - "possible" with accelerated investment to meet a 2030 target, but not with "irresponsible" profiteering gentailers stalling wind farm projects since 2011.
He loves talking. No doubt about that. Why does he look like a stunned mullet when anyone disagrees with him? Only 38% of the country actually wanted National's vision for the country. Lots of people didnt. It's 2024 not 1980 Simeon.
Loving these energy interviews at the moment they are stimulating some really good and hilarious commentary from the people, this video being a prime example. "Dry year problem" makes it sound infrequent, we're now i would say in the 6th year of a persistent energy shortage that unless we start storing and generating more energy and/or using less energy, will get worse. Its not that the lights will go off just the prices will go up so thats comforting. Like when your phone battery starts to crap out (insufficient storage) you spend more time either on the charger or with your phone dying and less time enjoying ya phone.
@@tanepukenga1421 Maintenance costs for wind turbines etc. are not prohibitive but affordable. I support geothermal but NZ's exploitable geothermal resource is limited to a total of about 1.4GW. Gooble that 1.4GW up, sure, but don't stop building wind farms like NZ did stop for 10 wasted years from 2011 to 2020 - don't stop building until you treble NZ's wind power capacity from what it is now. Don't take "no" for an answer from profiteering gentailers. Build wind farms.
We have so many sources of power generation, so many more than other countries. We have wind, wave, dams, solar and geothermal. So many options that really out lower power costs should be an advantage for our products in a global market … but national more interested in fumbling the situation so they can make their buddies rich
Something fishy when the govt just won't look at promoting home solar. Is it because it will directly benefit the home owner rather than their big business buddies? 🤔🤔🤔
Solar is a good step forward but actually wind energy is a better fit with NZ seasonal demand. Other people promote solar and I wish them well but I'd point out that NZ should triple its wind energy generation - to something like 3.7GW. Rooftop solar and utility solar can clash because they always produce power at the exact same time. Too much of one makes investment in the other not such good value. Wind power is somewhat variable across the country.
@@Scot_Scientist thats not the point of this question though. Home Solar benefits home owners and gives stronger self sufficient energy. Wind energy at home will costs significantly more to setup unless there is technology out there that allows home owners to set these up as opposed to solar.
@@lukecavit3140 We do use both wind & solar the world over. I was just pointing out that the New Zealand government shouldn't neglect buildng wind farms like previous governments have, for example for 10 years from 2011 to 2020 when wind farm building was badly stalled and NZ got left behind other pier countries like the UK and Ireland. But sure build solar. Solar is good.
@@pblchldy8082 I don't recommend home wind energy for urban or suburban homes. If you live on a farm that's different but that wasn't the point of my answer. You've raised the red herring of "home wind". I was thinking of utility wind power where NZ has fallen behind after wind farm building was badly stalled from 2011 to 2020 - since restarted but NZ has a lot of catching up to do with utility wind power.
The Wellington council is spending more money on nice to have and the water infrastructure is crumbling around the city and all they are doing is cycle lanes that nobody wants or cares about
@@mattheweden-pc5pk Dont mention the half billion suck Old Town Hall. I ride from Karori to the CBD to Oriental bay everyday for the past month. Have seen 1 cyclist in that period.
@@LarryMilmine-e9r That's politics 101. You never answer the questions unless it benefits your position. All of Jack's questions were leading to a gotcha moment. Any person with common sense would know that.
@@John.Leitch That's problem mate. We don't care anymore about the lies and manipulation. It's become win at any cost by doing the least self-destructive move even if that involves lying and betraying the common people. But at the end day, as a consumer and someone trying to survive. I want to know why there's price gouging and I want politicians who give me confidence that things are going to get better.
Nats called out Labour for any fees increase, labelling them all taxes. Ute tax, app tax etc etc. Now Nats are increasing fees left, right and centre. Prescriptions, water, car rego increase, road tolls, the list goes on!!
The biggest, glaring financial destructive element within the business of running New Zealand is health and safety. Ridiculous costs, do we see a stream of accidents and ambulances? No we don’t. Do. We see ambulances. Pouring off building sites. No we don’t. these ludicrous costs of health and safety could provide the health system with a new fully equipped modern hospital per week in this country. The enormous waste of time building infrastructure has a colossal drag on the economy., and from the emotional point of view,the attitude of we can do it ,has evaporated in front of our eyes, to a young group of men and woman, who not only have difficulty making up their minds, which way to go forward, but like the dodo have now lost the ability even to go Forward.
Councils pay for the water, roads and local social necessities of communities that are the people who deliver the production. But Govt collects the taxes from the profits of production and salaries from production. The problem is the Govt collects the taxes when the money is needed locally.
Firstly beyond the usual blame on the previous government spiel he then goes on to say that the Lake Onslow proposal was damaging because it caused the existing generators to pull back on developing new capacity. That to me sounds very much like the incumbent electricity suppliers sensing a threat to their cosy market dominance and then pulling whatever levers they could to ensure the failure of the project. Keep in mind that those generators are government owned so by association our government is restricting long term development of potential solutions to our electricity supply issues on multiple fronts. Secondly Jack pushed Simeon on the comparative cost effectiveness of developing a LNG terminal vs. blanket rooftop solar rollout. Of course Simeon played the irregular generation of solar but Jack countered that with the approach that solar can be used when available to mitigate hydro dam flows thereby utilising their significant storage capacity as a virtual battery. Simeon absolutely refuses to recognise this potental, instead doubling back on his claims that gas powered thermal generation is the only option NZ has to address the current generation shortfall. It must also be kept in mind that the way our electricity supply system structured the wholesale price is calculated every 30 minutes based on the most expensive generation method being used at that instant which in the case of peak loading is thermal gas or coal fired. That rate then applies to all generation being used at that time so is effectively a huge windfall for the hydro generators whose cost of generation is far less than what they can charge on the wholesale market. Yahoo... money in the bank! The strategy that Simeon Brown is proposing by pushing for thermal generation including by the use of even more costly imported LNG will effectively lock NZ consumers into higher prices for longer. Again this is an added windfall for the existing gentailers as well as restricting the viability of solar and wind capacity by the smaller players, who are stuck with selling their generation into a market biased by the huge advantages being enjoyed by their competitors and potentially onsellers of that generation. The system is well and truly broken and based on Simeon Brown's absolutely blinkered attitude in this interview it is unlikely this government will do anything to improve that situation.
Still flogging Onslowsaurus, the dead dinosaur, after I @Scot_Scientist tweeted you a link 10 days ago to my blog post "New Zealand’s Battery Project: Onslow pumped hydro is too big, too expensive and too stupid" which explains in detail why it was not what it was cracked up to be and not worth the money?
@@Scot_Scientist While your blog post criticising the Lake Onslow proposal pulls in plenty of science it, like Simeon's presentation above, seems oblivious to the current situation of NZ's big state owned generators using their market dominance to scuttle development of major works that would threaten the preferential pricing regulatory structure that they currently benefit strongly from. If you read my comment regarding the gentailers' exerting their dominance to see off a potential economic threat (i.e. Lake Onslow) to their present arrangement from that perspective it would also suggest that increased wind based generation will be difficult for the same reason. Political complications are the biggest hurdle to improvement of NZ's electricity sector and currently the incumbent big hydro based genretailers are essentially weaponising their hydro assets to both control wholesale prices and restrict entry by smaller generators and retailers. Unless the current situation of confluence of generation and retailing of electricity within these dominant corporations is addressed little is likely to improve for consumers and this interview of our energy minister would suggest that action along those lines is very unlikely.
@@HarmLessSolutionsNZ My tweets are highly focused on the stalling of wind farm building for 10 years from 2011 to 2020 under different governments from both main political parties. My blog post strongly advocates for wind power as as solution. Scuttling Onslow was the right call. Doesn't mean you have to vote for this guy though. I don't even get a vote. I'm just advising what's the right investment to make.
Both central govt and local govt need to improve their spending. Neither is using socioeconomic cost benefit analysis on all of its spending (that is then made publicly available) to rank its spending priorities. National is guilty of slashing its financial knife about, damn the socioeconomic consequences. Local govt is guilty of spending on everything except critical infrastructure. Local govt is underfunded to the extent that central govt doesn’t pay rates on all its land and it imposes processes such as the RMA without any consideration of the implementation costs. But also many local govt areas are too small and uneconomic. NZ would be better off with fewer unitary authorities.
Simeon missed the point, if record profits are being made, the Gentailers could take a hit on their profits to keep prices down, instead they push the prices up. The reason this is a concern is because they generally don’t put them down later on. There is clear profiteering going on as Mercury as an example went from 3 floors in Penrose, to a whole block in Newmarket. More competition doesn’t lower prices, as they simply follow each other. Price regulation is the only y to bring prices down.
So the price of electricity being high will encourage investment in new generation/storage, but new generation/storage will tend to bring the price of electricity down so we shouldn't overdo it. 🤔 Coo coo coo coo...
The governments and energy industries have known for 20 years, energy shortages would be enviable and nothing was done. The energy sector is about short term profits, not building big budget infrastructure.
So true. NZ should triple its wind generation for 100% renewable electricity - "possible" with accelerated investment to meet a 2030 target, but not with "irresponsible" profiteering gentailers stalling wind farm projects since 2011.
2 Australian States have 50-85% solar,wind power, they've also building more battery storage, other States are at 25-65%, while coal is being phased out gas is still used as backup.
Oh energy shortage not excessive profit margins 😂😂😂 This is a National policy if I'm not mistaken. Saling off the energy sector because private management gets better results? I wonder how many mom pop inviters ended up buying?
Local water done well is far more expensive than 3 waters. Not only in terms of economy of scale. But in terms of cost of borrowing is far higher for a debt laiden council than the Central government.
Councils can’t afford everything thing that’s coming due because at the end of the day it’s just squeezing you and I more and we’re all just getting by. Govt. needs to be more proactive and actually think to solve our problems but they’re too lazy to
@@alfvanderhulst8489 Co-governances have existed for years. The opposition politicized it, and pulled out the race card, despite previous National governments introducing co-governance arrangements. Even Councils have them. Co-governance is a partnership only, it is not a take over like some falsely believe.
Solar doesn’t produce at the peak times … doesn’t start until 9am and finishes around 4 pm. Peak is at 7-8 am and 6-7 pm.. love solar just also need storage to make use of it
Are they price gouging? We never got an answer. We never moved onto "well what are you going to do to stop the gouging right now"? What about a special tax on gouging profits? 100%?
New Zealand already has Natural Gas Well's Operational in Taranaki On & Off Shore ! How much Time would it take to Drill More Productive Well's to add to what Is Already in use !
2:26 good point sir the market would not like 100% renewable electricity because then with 100% free fuel there is no justification for high prices. Any percentage of thermal in the market seems to be code for "we have a shortage of energy therefore prices should be high."
When Jack asked about investing in solar and using existing hydro as a battery Simeon looked like it had never crossed his mind. Too focused on how to increase thermal or Fossil fuels. Jack is 100% correct we can do it with renewables if we are smart about when we use what generation. Nice to hear questions about how increase in LPG will affect their emissions budget.
If every house was energy self sufficient housing (yes it needs support from generators) was producing just 30% of it's daily need it would reduce the demand on suppliers freeing that supply for business BUT it comes with 2 major issues that governments (both of them) don't want to admit, 1st they get reduced income from the gentailers New Zealanders house holders will be using 30% less power & 2nd if there is no large demand for energy from new generation supply gentailers companies will not have the incentive to invest & build new generation because with no real demand prices are low so it would take a long time to recoup investment & investors want quick returns on investments to appease shareholders
The rates in Central Otago went up $850 this year with no warning our council does not know how to budget when times are tough or they’re not feeling The hard Times it on their wage
We have a generation shortage. Imagine if the government put in place a scheme where they install solar panels on every residential property. The panels can then be paid off over 5 years by the household.
Totally disappointed in the the constant rude interruptions by Jack Tame , he didn’t give Simeon Brown time to finish his responses . Well done Simeon for standing up to Jack in a polite manner. I was exhausted with frustration of Jack’s voice .
If the profits are so high why arent a bunch of companys jumping in and creating generation capacity. My guess is the governments and councils make it too hard
I would have quite liked to listen to Simeon Brown, so it's a shame that the interview was once again hijacked by the interviewers childish, petulant antics to force his preconceived opinions to the fore. If he asked a question and kept his mouth shut and listen, then the viewers maybe able to gain the knowledge to reach their own conclusions.
Looking at them both the real question is why Simeon and Jack failed to admit they have the same mother. Their Mum bought their suits Christmas 2022 as part of a Hallensteins ‘2 for 1 deal’. IRD also get their suits from Hallensteins as part of the All of Government Procurement scheme
Like all decisions this govt have made they haven't even looked at alternatives to energy. It's been 100% about more gas since before they were elected. We could be 100% self sufficient with energy with the potential sustainable generation we have in nz even if all/most was of transport was converted to electric. More solar means less hydro needed so the water stays in the lake for times when solar generation is low. But that method doesn't work in the current market where the aim is to maximise profit not maximise efficiency
Market profiteering because of light-touch regulation and weak government not laying down the law in the public interest. Wind + hydro works even better for NZ but solar is pretty good too.
How can Auckland council fix the potholes while Auckland transport installs 600 speed bumps which undermine the structure of the road that the council is trying to fix.
Jack let him away with brushing away Lake Onslow. Brown said it was stifling investment in new generation. Well Simeon we own Meridian just get them in and make them do it.
This Q+A video with Energy Minister Simeon Brown discusses a range of topics, including energy prices, local government, and road policing. On energy prices, Brown acknowledges that they are high but blames it on a number of factors, including a dry hydrological year, low wind speeds, and a reduction in gas production. He also says that the government is working to encourage more investment in generation and to make the market more competitive. On local government, Brown says that the government is removing the four well-being provisions from the Local Government Act and that councils will no longer be responsible for the social, environmental, cultural, and economic well-being of their communities. He also says that the government is working to give Auckland Council more control over Auckland Transport. On road policing, Brown says that the government has announced a new road policing investment program and that funding for road policing has not decreased. He also says that the government is working to make roads safer and to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads.
This is ridiculous. If everyone got wind and solar generation there'd be no huge profits for Simeon's mates to gouge and nothing for him to sell to his mates.
Their talk of the market delivering cheaper power is nonsense. The market is working right now and delivering, and this is the price we are now paying. The market didn't build any of those electricity assets to begin with. The only thing the market is good at is buying preexisting assets that the government took all the risk to build and buying them at a discount. A company could get together shareholders now and float a company to buy and build a new dam but its not going to happen because the capital returned and the risk is way too high for any private investor to manage. Power should be treated like roading and the government should be investing in it to actually deliver more. Business becomes completely uneconomical with high energy prices.
They dont need to do a thing, we'll get used to the new high energy prices, just like we got used to the high fuel costs, high grocery costs and high housing costs.
It's great when journalists have done their research and can call out the interviewers when they try to mislead the public like at 20:13. We need more journalists like him
I love solar, but the sun doesn't shine at night, my caravan has a lot of solar panels , but the gas cooker and diesel heater have their respective places.
The NZ power generation system is fatally flawed & is driving NZ businesses & NZ Inc into the ground. Successive govts set up the system & are completely responsible for the mess. New Zealand’s energy costs have created a spark recently with wholesale electricity prices being the highest in the developed world. a) Only 4 main power generators with 80% of the market. Straightforward oligopoly. b) Given the way the market is structured there is no incentive for generators to add capacity using expensive capital. They make more profit from scarcity. c) In no other market do all market participants get all paid the highest price in any supply period. d) The existence of gentailers e) The failure of successive govts to address the dry year issue. Given b) the generators are not going to do it (exactly the reason they squealed when Lake Onslow was raised as an option) f) There is a direct link between GDP and energy consumption, so we need power prices to be close to the average price if NZ Inc is to be successful, not the marginal price NZ Inc is paying. This can only be achieved with a non-profit SOE which would make the right investment decisions in the right places at the right time, and which would have a marginal price much closer the average price. g) As shareholder the govt syphons off massive taxes and profits from the generators at the expense of NZ business growth. And the govt spends this money with a lower benefit/cost return. (some govt spending isnt even subject to cost benefit assessment) h) There are 100,000 households already in energy poverty, with more to come should the proposed $15/month increase go through for Transpower & the Lines Companies.
Wind will save you. Triple wind energy generation up to 3.7GW - 1.1GW South Island, the rest North Island. Small (relative to Onslowsaurus) North Island pumped hydro.
Absurd to aim for thermal backup as the dry year solution. It will mean very high power prices with the generators all getting paid the price of the thermal generation as the highest cost form of power. NZ would be far better off with pumped hydro (not necessarily Onslow) which would be buy power when it is cheap and sell it back into the market in dry years when prices are higher.
They should connect manapouri dam to the North Island grid via very high voltage power cables... In an energy crisis, we should not be using 10% + of our national power supply for marginally profitable aluminium!!?
Manapōuri is connected to the rest of the National Grid via two double-circuit 220 kV transmission lines. One line connects Manapōuri to Tiwai Point via North Makarewa substation, north of Invercargill, while the other line connects Manapōuri to Invercargill substation, with one circuit also connecting to North Makarewa substation. Another double-circuit 220 kV line connects Invercargill to Tiwai Point. (Wikipedia)
Theres one more for the councils my god who's idea was it to install 600 speed bumps in Auckland alone wow that could have fixed the potholes in Auckland.
New Zealand should triple its wind generation (up to 3.7GW, 1.1GW South Island, the rest North Island) for 100% renewable energy electricity - "possible" with accelerated investment to meet a 2030 target, but not with "irresponsible" profiteering gentailers stalling wind farm projects since 2011.
The energy companies have know since 1992 ,at least, that they needed to increase production and updaate their systems to cope with the lack of water for hydro.So what have they done and why?Ansswer, they have done very little. WHY?Answer ..well why would any company change a system that allows them to increase their profits 3 fold when there's low rain fall?There is absolutely no incentive for them to fix anything and as a major benefactor of the company the government ,both major parties, has been complicite
To be fair, PM Clark's government got them building wind farms - but they stalled building for 10 years from 2011 under governments from both parties. Governments need to regulate with a firmer hand, not take "no" and excessive profiteering for an answer. If all else fails, government could nationalise and do the job itself.
I think it says what you're wanting it to say. Can we guarantee that councils having less power will result in better investment in towns/cities? Is the rates issue a result of mismanagement from councils or is it a result of under investment into infrastructure over time? It seems like we are all footing the bill for decades of under investment rather than councils being unable to manage finances. More funding from central government would be a better alternative than removing powers from councils.
The gentaliers government is majority so are they not keeping the water levels low so they get more money as that's what they care more for than all New Zealanders.
Yeah..user pays.Why not stop discounting high users (businesses)of power,water, etc and make them pay the same as the average house hold instead of having average New Zealanders subsidize them
Our Tauranga rates go to perks for all the employees: cheap airfares, life insurance, company cars, cheap cafeteria food, no bus fares, 5 weeks holiday, cocktail parties, just to name a few and all paid for by the rate payers. Thanx Tauranga city council for fucking us over
for gos sake build a new hydro station we gun a need it sooner or later and its cheeper now than never. get on with it and build it it critical we can supply energy too companies and a cheep rate to get investment into NZ , ie manufacturing witch employ people and sustain immigration growth , just build it we need it
