This spreadsheet contains the latest data on electricity generation and demand in New Zealand. The tables are updated quarterly.
Data tables for electricity [XLSX, 311 KB]
From this page you can also access all historical electricity information published by our Modelling and Sector Trends Team. Information is available on New Zealand''s electricity supply, demand, and transmission and distribution.
Electricity prices are presented on the Energy prices pages.
Hydroelectric generation has been a part of New Zealand''s energy system for over 100 years and continues to provide the majority of our electricity needs. Currently there''s over 5,000 MW of installed hydro capacity. The majority of it is found in the South Island.
Geothermal generation has, for a long time, been an integral part of New Zealand''s electricity landscape. It began over 55 years ago with the opening of the Wairakei power station in November 1958. Most of New Zealand''s installed capacity is situated in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Geothermal generation is around 15% of New Zealand''s electricity generation.
Wind generation has grown quickly as a source of electricity in New Zealand. The first wind farm, Hau Nui, was commissioned in 1997. Now wind generation makes up around 5% of New Zealand''s electricity generation. Most of New Zealand''s wind farms are located in the North Island. This includes the country''s 2 largest farms, Tararua Wind Farm and West Wind Makara, which are located in the lower North Island.
Electricity generation from the combustion of coal, oil, and gas provides baseload, backup and peaker electricity supply. Generation from these fuels is around a quarter of New Zealand''s electricity generation. Most of New Zealand''s thermal plants are found in the North Island, close to domestic coal, oil, and gas resources.
Around a third of New Zealand''s electricity demand is from households and over a third is from industrial sectors. The majority of industrial electricity demand is from the wood, pulp, paper and printing sectors and the basic metals sectors, with the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter being the largest single user of electricity in the country.
The commercial sectors consume around a quarter of New Zealand''s electricity demand. The remaining demand comes from the transport sectors and the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors, which consume only a small amount.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence(external link).
The level of electricity generation from renewable sources reached its highest level on record driven by increases in hydro, wind, and solar generation. This led to the renewable share of electricity generation reaching 88.1%, its highest level since 1981.
Net generation refers to the amount of electricity generated minus what was used by the generating plant itself (called the ''parasitic load'').
Geothermal generation was down by 3.4% (275 GWh) to 7,758 GWh. Contributing to this were outages at several plants (both planned and unplanned).
The increase in renewable electricity generation meant less generation was required from non-renewable sources. Gas generation was down 4.9% (212 GWh) to 4,097 GWh, while coal generation dropped by 17.6% (220 GWh) to 1,031 GWh.
Residential sector surpasses industrial to become largest consumer of electricity
National electricity consumption was also relatively unchanged, up 0.2% (69 GWh) to 39,130 GWh in 2023. For the first time, residential consumption surpassed industrial consumption to become the largest sector of electricity consumption in New Zealand. Consumption by the residential sector has grown by 4.6% (587 GWh) over the last 5 years, with over 75,000 new residential connection points added over this period.
Electricity consumption for transport, although starting from a relatively lower base, has seen sustained growth over recent years. In 2023, consumption by the sector increased by 42.4% (82 GWh) to 275 GWh, with increased uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) over the last couple of years contributing to this. There were 76,506 battery electric vehicles in New Zealand''s motor vehicle fleet at the end of 2023, compared with only 29, 292 at the end of 2021.
Fleet statistics(external link) — Ministry of Transport
Industrial electricity consumption decreased by 5% (673 GWh) in 2023 to 12,903 GWh. Electricity use by the industrial sector has been declining in recent years, with decreases in the wood, pulp, and paper processing sector contributing to this.
Electricity consumption in the wood processing sector decreased by 32.8% (488 GWh) in 2023 to 999 GWh. This was 61.2% (1,577 GWh) lower than 5 years ago in 2019. Contributing to this was the closure of Norske Skog Tasman''s newsprint mill in Kawerau at the end of June 2021, as well as a reduction in the activity of the sector in 2023 due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Total generation capacity (excluding cogeneration) increased by 2.2% (210 MW) to 9,931 MW in 2023. This was mainly due to the continued strong growth in solar capacity which increased 42.1% (110 MW) to 372 MW in 2023. While the growth was mainly in distributed capacity, the country''s first utility-scale solar farm also became operational in 2023, adding 33 MW to capacity. Wind capacity also increased by 10.4% (99 MW) to 1,045 MW total capacity with the Kaiwera Downs Stage 1 and Harapaki wind farms coming online. All other plant types remained unchanged for the year.
Many of us want an overview of how much energy our country consumes, where it comes from, and if we''re making progress on decarbonizing our energy mix. This page provides the data for your chosen country across all of the key metrics on this topic.
In the selection box above you can also add or remove additional countries and they will appear on all of the charts on this page. This allows you to compare specific countries you might be interested in, and measure progress against others.
In the energy domain, there are many different units thrown around – joules, exajoules, million tonnes of oil equivalents, barrel equivalents, British thermal units, terawatt-hours, to name a few. This can be confusing, and make comparisons difficult. So at Our World in Data we try to maintain consistency by converting all energy data to watt-hours. We do this to compare energy data across different metrics and sources.
How many people do not have access to electricity?
Electricity is a good that adds massive value to modern life: from having light at night; to washing clothes; cooking meals; running machinery; or connecting with people across the world. Many would argue that it is a crucial for poverty alleviation, economic growth and improved living standards.1
This interactive chart shows the percentage of people that have access to electricity.
How many people do not have access to clean fuels for cooking?
Having clean fuels and technologies for cooking – meaning non-solid fuels such as natural gas, ethanol or even electric technologies – makes these processes more efficient, saving both time and energy.
This interactive chart shows the percentage of the population that have access to clean cooking fuels for cooking.
When we compare the total energy consumption of countries the differences often reflect differences in population size.
It''s useful to look at differences in energy consumption per capita.
This interactive chart shows the average energy consumption per person each year.
How much total energy – combining electricity, transport and heat – does the country consume each year?
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