We will be breaking up the power companies so they can no longer control both the power and the price.

For decades now, New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses have been getting a raw deal when it comes to electricity. You’ve been paying far too much for power.

The current system is designed to make maximum profits for power companies, and everyday Kiwi families and businesses are the ones paying the price.

You’re having to choose between heating your home or putting food on the table. It’s hitting Kiwi families. It’s hurting our industries. And it’s costing New Zealand jobs.

We’ve seen it across the country. Mills at Karioi and Tangiwai. Oji Fibre Solutions’ Penrose mill. Carter Holt Harvey’s Tokoroa plywood plant and Eves Valley sawmill. Balance Agri-Nutrients’ Kapuni fertiliser plant. All shut.

And just this month, Heinz Wattie’s has proposed ending manufacturing in New Zealand, putting 350 Kiwi jobs at risk.

Energy security is national security. It underpins everything - our households, our jobs, our industries, and our resilience as a nation.

We will deliver a National Energy Strategy for New Zealand.

We will split the big power companies up into generators and retailers.

The big four power companies control almost 90% of the electricity generation and then sell it back to themselves. That makes it very difficult for innovative and low-cost retailers to enter the market – which means prices stay high.

Under the current system, the most expensive generator sets the price for all electricity - even electricity that costs peanuts to generate. It’s absurd.

We will replace the current system so that companies cannot hold back supply just to drive prices higher.

We will guarantee long-term, fixed-price contracts for new-build generation projects, giving investors certainty. And we’ll guarantee their power will be first to be used. It will mean more power stations. More renewable energy. More competition. More resilience.

And we’ll put power back into the hands of New Zealanders. If you generate power at home like solar, you should be able to sell it back to the grid at the same price you pay for it.

It’s time to secure our electricity system for all New Zealanders.