After more than two decades working on energy projects overseas, Dave Maslin, director of power and energy at professional services firm WSP, returned to New Zealand to find the country’s electricity system largely unchanged. Reflecting on his experience abroad, Maslin noted that while many international electricity markets expanded and evolved, New Zealand experienced roughly 15 years of stagnant growth in capacity and innovation.
Maslin’s return coincided with the 2024 drought, a period that intensified concerns over energy security and reliability. This event sparked widespread discussions about the risks of low water inflows affecting hydroelectric generation. At the same time, the decline in domestic gas production removed a critical backup source of supply, amplifying fears about energy shortages.
Based in Canterbury, Maslin highlights the region’s potential to generate surplus renewable energy to meet growing industrial demand locally. To realize this potential, he emphasizes the need for an integrated approach encompassing generation, transmission, storage, and demand management, all coordinated as a unified system. He describes the national electricity network as a “large machine” where balance and harmony are essential to avoid outages, disruptions, and costly overbuilding.
Maslin credits previous generations for investing in hydroelectric infrastructure, including the Taupō and Pūkaki systems, which have historically complemented each other by balancing inflows across the North and South Islands. However, changes brought by deregulation and asset ownership have altered incentives, making coordination more challenging, especially between regions. He sees an opportunity for Canterbury to play a larger role in this balancing act by supplying its own power to support expanding local industries.
The region currently has proposals for more than 20 solar farms, including the upcoming 150-megawatt solar facility at Kōwhai Park, adjacent to Christchurch Airport. This project, a collaboration involving the airport authority, Contact Energy, and private developer Lightsource BP, reflects efforts to integrate generation and distribution with local demand.
Despite the potential, Maslin identifies several hurdles. The consenting process remains slow and costly, in part due to the Resource Management Act framework, which increases the capital cost of renewable projects beyond construction expenses. Furthermore, there is a shortage of skilled labor with experience in newer energy technologies. While universities like the University of Canterbury are producing graduates interested in sustainability, sector veterans capable of transferring critical knowledge are in short supply, requiring expertise to be sourced from abroad or international offices.
Perhaps most paradoxically, the sector now faces financial challenges due to low wholesale electricity prices. The average price reached about NZ$200 per megawatt hour in 2024 after the drought, but it has since dropped significantly to near NZ$30, down from around NZ$130 the previous year. While this decline benefits consumers, it hampers developers’ ability to secure financing and justify new investments, limiting project development despite falling technology costs.
Maslin’s assessment underscores a complex landscape where balancing supply and demand, regulatory reform, workforce development, and market signals all intersect to shape the future of New Zealand’s electricity sector.