Electricity

Quarterly Statistics

Electricity Generation

Electricity Generation (GWh)
Electricity Generation (PJ)

For quarterly electricity commentary, go to New Zealand Energy Quarterly.

Residential Electricity Prices

Each quarter the Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices (QSDEP) is published as an up to date indicator of movement of the price of electricity for residential consumers. These prices are based on a “model” 8000kWh/annum customer so the national averages created by this survey differs from the national average residential electricity price published in the Prices section of Energy Data and in the Energy Data File. For the quarterly survey results and further information on its methodology, click on the following link: Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices.

Annual Statistics: Updated 2 July 2009

Data Availability

Each year the Energy Information and Modelling Group at MED publish the energy data file which provides comprehensive statistics and supporting information on New Zealand’s energy supply, demand, reserves and prices, mostly as national aggregates. It includes annual data from 1974, with quarterly data and annual energy balances to the end of 2008.

All tables published in the section G. Electricity of Energy Data File (with any applicable data updates) can be found at the following link: Electricity Data.

New Zealand Energy Data File 2009 - Section G. Electricity Summary

The following figures and text are a summary of the discussion presented in section G. Electricity of the New Zealand Energy Data File 2009

Electricity generation statistics are up to the calendar year 2008 whilst electricity sales and consumption statistics are up to the March year 2008, so they cannot be directly compared.

For further details see Section G. Electricity of the New Zealand Energy Data File 2009.

In 2008, 42,246 GWh or 152 PJ of electricity was generated in New Zealand with 94% of this being provided by New Zealand five largest generators, Meridian Energy (27%), Contact Energy (24%), Genesis Power (22%), Mighty River Power (16%) and TrustPower (5%).

In 2008 Hydro, Gas, Coal and Geothermal generation accounted for 52%, 24%, 11%, and 9% of the total electricity generation, respectively. Other fuel types including Oil, Biogas, Waste Heat, Wood, and Wind represented the remaining 4%.

Figure 1a: Electricity Generation by Fuel Type (Calendar Year 1974 - 2008)

Figure 1b: Electricity Generation by Fuel Type (Calendar Year 2008)

Electricity sales for March year 2008 totalled 38,862 GWh. Of this, 44% was sold to the industrial sector, 32% to the Residential sector, and 24% to the commercial sector. In addition to this nearly 800 GWh of electricity was generated onsite and consumed onsite by industrial and commercial consumers, giving New Zealand’s total consumption for the March Year 2008 as 39,660 GWh. Average annual growth in total electricity consumption from March Year 2005 to March Year 2008 was around 1.5% per annum.

Figure 2: March Year Electricity Sales by Sector

Data Tables for Electricity
Data used to produce the quarterly updates and annual summary information for electricity.

Electricity Demand Graphs
Weekly and cummulative electricity demand graphs by region.