Unions call for Government to buy back full ownership of power firms

Tuesday, 30 September 2025

Policy would mean the more the three part-state-owned genetailers pursued profits, the faster they would be brought back fully into public hands.

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The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) has called for power firms Meridian, Mercury and Genesis to be brought back into full public ownership, on the eve of a long-awaited Government announcement on energy policy.

The union body made clear its key worry was that high electricity prices were harming workers and the economy by causing “de-industrialisation”, but also voiced concerns about households’ bills.

CTU economist Craig Renney said electricity costs were up 11.4% this year and the average energy bill in Victoria, Australia, was $347 a quarter, while in Auckland it was $603 a quarter.

CTU President Richard Wagstaff proposed the Government should use the dividends it receives from its 51% stake in the three gentailers to gradually buy back all of the remaining shares in the firms that it doesn’t own.

At the same time, it should also use its “power as a major shareholder” to direct the firms to “support the wider economy and network resiliency” rather than focusing so much on profits, he said.

The approach would mean the more they ignored that mandate and more profitable they were and the higher the dividends they paid, the quicker they would be brought back into full public ownership, the CTU noted.

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The market value of the 49% stakes in Meridian, Mercury and Genesis that the Government doesn’t own stands at $13 billion, but the CTU said its proposal would be a way to buy back those shares without increasing government debt.

“Aotearoa needs an electricity system that produces affordable renewable energy to support a thriving economy and lower household living costs,” Wagstaff said.

CTU president Richard Wagstaff (right) and economist Craig Renney set out their stall on energy policy in front of Parliament today.

“The partial privatisation of our electricity system has prevented growth in our generation capacity. A state of manufactured scarcity has delivered rising energy bills for households and businesses and huge dividends to gentailer shareholders.”

Renney said bold change was needed to lift economic performance and make energy more affordable.

“The alternative is to continue with a system that is driving de-industrialisation and energy poverty,” he said.

Associate Energy Minister and NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones has also suggested the big power firms could be brought back into public ownership “if all else fails” to improve outcomes in the sector.

However, major market reforms are not expected to be canvassed by the Government when Energy Minister Simon Watts releases a report it commissioned into the sector on Wednesday and reveals the Government’s response.

Labour Party energy spokesperson Megan Woods said all options needed to be on the table to lower power prices for homes and businesses but “I'd need to be convinced that simply different ownership of the status quo would achieve that”.

“My concern is it wouldn't fundamentally address the issue of how we affordably store energy in New Zealand, and how we meet peak [demand],” she said.

The CTU said generators were financially incentivised to continue a market where the “balance” of electricity supply and demand can be found only at a point where the market is providing expensive electricity.

“If any of the providers rapidly expanded their market share through new generation, they would be worse off. This is a classic case of market failure,” it said.