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Will the owners of Tiwai Point smelter, as New Zealand's single largest electricity user, be required to pay the proposed electricity levy to fund a Liquefied Natural Gas import terminal, if not, why not?

Answered Question 4952 (2026)
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Asked by

Scott Willis

List MP · Green Party

Question

  • Will the owners of Tiwai Point smelter, as New Zealand's single largest electricity user, be required to pay the proposed electricity levy to fund a Liquefied Natural Gas import terminal, if not, why not?

Answered by

Hon Simon Watts

Member for North Shore · National Party · Minister for Energy

Answer

Final decisions are yet to be made, but it is anticipated the levy would be applied in a similar way as the levy to recover costs associated with the Electricity Authority (i.e. collected through the wholesale market). How the levy is then on-charged to end users will be up to participants in the electricity market.