$7m on consultants or solar for homes? Energy spending questioned

Friday, 17 April 2026

The Green Party says the money spent on consulting on energy policy should have been spent setting up a low cost loan scheme for households to get solar panels.

The coalition Government has spent more than $7 million consulting on energy policy this term.

But the Green Party says this would have better spent helping people get solar.

MBIE’s energy markets branch spent almost $890,000 in 2023/24, on consultants. In 2024/25 it spent $1.8 million and $2.4 million to the end of February in 2025/26

The Energy Competition Task Force - an initiative between the Electricity Authority and the Commerce Commission to address high prices - spent $1.5m on consultants.

And the Electricity Sector Review, according to answers to Written Parliamentary Questions, has racked up an $800,000 consultancy bill.

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The Green Party has argued the sum of these expenses - totalling more than $7m - would have been better spent getting Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) proposed Ratepayers’ Assistance Scheme (RAS) off the ground.

“That figure is around exactly as much as it would cost for the upfront investment that the government could make in this scheme to solarise homes across this country to increase our resilience and to electrify our economy,” Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said.

Swarbrick said the low-cost loan programme - with one aim of helping ratepayers with the upfront costs of solar panels - was a better investment than more expert advice she argued the coalition had a track record of ignoring.

“If you were to look at the Frontier Report, which was obviously one of those key pieces of spending, it makes the case that the LNG import facility makes no economic sense and that there are far better investments that we could be making. So not only is the Government commissioning this independent, supposedly expert advice, but it’s been ignoring that advice, which seems to be the equivalent of setting this money on fire.”

A self-described “massive supporter” of the RAS advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa’s chief executive Mike Casey said the Government should spend less on consultants and more on existing proposals that could lower the cost of living.

“When you look at putting solar on a rooftop of a home and financing that through the ratepayers' assistance scheme, it will save the typical home in New Zealand enough money to pay back the capital and the interest repayments of that loan and still give that whānau an additional $1000 a year.

“It’s just time to stop spending money on consulting to come up with new ideas. I think the ideas are there now and we really need to start taking action on things that are actually going to make a difference to New Zealanders.”

Economists Cameron Bagrie and Stuart Henderson, along with Nelson mayor and former National Party Cabinet Minister Nick Smith, independently reviewed a business case on the RAS.

That review isn’t yet public so Bagrie said he couldn’t comment on its findings.

However, he told The Post people shouldn’t assume the consultancy spend on energy policy was a waste of money.

“You can’t really make an assessment as to the value, whether you spent $7m or $10m or $15m until you actually have a look at the advice. I don’t have the advice…but what I can say it would be completely prudent of this Government to be getting external advice on what is a very significant issue. If we don’t get this policy right it is going to cost the economy a lot.”

A spokesperson for the Energy Minister Simeon Brown said the Government has significantly reduced spending on contractors and consultants; saving the taxpayer more than $915 million.

“The Government takes a fiscally responsible approach to the use of consultants, recognising there will always be circumstances where their expertise is necessary, including in the development of policy on issues as critical to New Zealanders as energy.”

The spokesperson said the minister acknowledged the significant amount of work undertaken by local government and the private sector on the RAS proposal.

“The Government is considering it and has requested further advice,” they said.