A Lifeline For Gas, A Bill For Households: The LNG Levy Nobody Asked For – 350 Aotearoa

Taranaki locals, affordable energy advocates and climate justice organisations are condemning the Government’s announcement to underwrite a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal in Taranaki, labelling it a “lifeline for gas” that prioritises fossil fuel interests over a just transition for communities.

“The Government’s lack of imagination is thanks to fossil fuel lobbyists like Energy Resources Aotearoa, who are doing everything they can to lock expensive gas into the system for decades to come. Today’s decision was timed in order for Ministers to attend the annual fossil fuel lobbyist breakfast tomorrow,” says Alva Feldmeier, 350 Aotearoa Co-Director. “While Ministers are busy listening to sweet nothings from gas executives, the public still hasn’t been told what meaningful discussions were held with Taranaki iwi before deciding to turn their coastline into an imported gas terminal. We’re socialising the costs of gas so a handful of industrial users can delay change.”

Tuhi Ao Bailey from Climate Justice Taranaki says, “We are appalled at the government’s decision to build an unaffordable, gas-emitting, highly explosive LNG plant, likely right next to a marine reserve and popular beach in the middle of our major city. This is the complete opposite of what energy transition off fossil fuels looks like, and our communities will fight this all the way. New Plymouth is the sunniest place in the country. The government should be investing in decentralised affordable solar power generation, building energy efficiency, public transport and local economies instead”

350 Aotearoa points out that this decision is being made in a total strategic vacuum. While MBIE has a nearly complete long-term energy strategy sitting on its desks, the Government has chosen to shelve it in favour of “scatter policies” and “fossil fuel welfare”. “Investing in imported gas is like renting an expensive heater for a house you’re already planning to electrify. Every dollar spent keeping the old system running is a dollar not spent finishing the upgrade,” says Alva Feldmeier.

Alex Johnston, co-Director of Common Grace Aotearoa, says: “Let’s be clear about what has been announced here: a tax on every New Zealander’s power bill to subsidise fossil fuel giants to import the most expensive fuel source you could find rather than transitioning a few industrial players to free up more gas supply.”

The BCG report released in December outlined that the best thing in the short term was to help industrial users get off gas, not keep them on an imported drip line for decades. The report found that a $100–200 million gas transition fund would help resolve the gas supply-demand imbalance, ensure more affordable domestic gas and be much cheaper than building an LNG terminal.

Johnston added, “Government policy and funding should be driving the transition towards cleaner and more affordable energy, not subsidising fuels of the past that are harming people and planet.”

The Government claims the terminal will save money, but advocates wrote an open letter to the government last year to argue the numbers don’t add up for everyday New Zealanders:

LNG-generated electricity is estimated at $300/MWh double the price of new renewable energy, which sits at approximately $135/MWh.

In 2022, 110,000 households could not afford to keep their homes warm. 350 Aotearoa argues that while the Government can’t provide clear figures on the impact this will have on individual household bills, any subsidy for expensive gas is a subsidy taken away from solutions that actually lower costs.

A mass heat pump rollout could save households $1.5 billion annually and free up enough domestic gas for industry to avoid the need for imported LNG altogether.

“We don’t need expensive imported gas; we need a just transition”, says Feldmeier. “A true just transition means co-designing our energy future with workers, unions, and mana whenua to ensure we build a resilient, 100% renewable grid that serves people, not just shareholders and overseas corporations”.

350 Aotearoa is calling on the Government to immediately release the shelved Long-Term Energy Strategy and abandon the LNG terminal in favour of publicly-funded, community-owned renewable energy.