By blaming renewable energy like solar and wind for New Zealand’s exorbitant electricity prices, Jones swapped truth for fiction, serving his mining cronies while continuing to shaft Kiwi consumers.
Without a shred of skepticism, the hosts, Andrew Bolt, Peta Credlin, and Rowan Dean, fawned over Shane Jones pathetic promotion of polluting industries, swallowing his lies about renewables inflating power bills without any hesitation. Their sycophantic nods peaked when Jones smeared Jacinda Ardern, falsely tying her policies to price hikes, with zero pushback, amplifying the deceit Jones served up on a silver platter.
Today, Sky News reported:
New Zealand Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says the increase in electricity bills is due to a “hatred of fossil fuels” and a “false belief” of thinking you can run an economy without “peaking power”.
“The real problem is we were a low-cost energy system … the reality is, the power prices have not come down as a consequence of wind and solar,” Mr Jones said.
“Last winter, I believe we had the highest spiking prices for electricity in the entire OECD.
“We went through a 180-degree turn and basically buried Jacinda’s thinking.”
Since the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s, New Zealand’s electricity prices have surged, mainly driven by partial privatization. Economist Geoff Bertram’s 2020 study, “Weak Regulation, Rising Margins, and Asset Revaluations,” shows residential prices soared from 4.84 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1985 to 26.85 cents by 2018, doubling in real terms against an inflation-adjusted 14.08 cents. By 2024, the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment reported prices at 33.06 cents per kWh, a 75% jump from 18.87 cents in 2006. This isn’t due to solar or wind; it’s a market rigged for profit over people.
The last National government (2008-2017) under John Key partially privatised Mighty River Power (now Mercury), Meridian, and Genesis, promising competition would cut costs. Utter nonsense. Bertram notes retail markups spiked, with the energy component up 70% from 2004 to 2018, while gentailers’ asset revaluations drained $10-12 billion from consumers after the reforms.
Contrast this with Jones’ baseless claim that renewables are the villain. New Zealand’s electricity mix is already over 80% renewable, with hydro dominating at over 50% of capacity. Solar and wind, while growing, remain small contributors, hardly enough to move the price needle.
The Electricity Authority’s 2024 reports highlight that price spikes, like those exceeding $800/MWh in August 2024, stem from low hydro storage and reliance on costly gas-fired thermal plants, not renewables. Rising gas prices, driven by depleting domestic fields, add further pressure. If anything, expanding solar and wind could reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuels, stabilising prices in the long run.
So why does Jones peddle this drivel? Follow the money. His cozy ties to mining interests, evident in his advocacy for numerous extractive projects, suggest a vested interest in fossil fuels. Renewables threaten the profits of his cronies in extractive industries, so he spins a narrative to discredit them. It’s a tired old tactic from a politician who seems more comfortable shilling for corporate mates than serving the people he's meant to represent.
The real scandal is the $10.8 billion in dividends gentailers paid out from 2010 to 2020, while generation capacity grew by a measly 1%, as reported by Newsroom in 2024, causing companies to fail. That’s money that could have bolstered infrastructure or eased consumer prices, especially for low-income households facing energy hardship. Instead, it lined shareholders’ pockets. Jones’ refusal to acknowledge this while scapegoating renewables isn't just ignorant...it’s insulting to every Kiwi currently struggling to pay the bills.
