In 2020, Transpower published Whakamana i Te Mauri Hiko, a paper that examined five possible scenarios for our country’s energy future. It set out the opportunity for Aotearoa to decarbonise our energy mix through electrification – switching the energy households and businesses use to renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. Whakamana i Te Mauri Hiko was also a call to action for policy makers and the energy sector to rise to the challenge of enabling electrification.
Five years on, as expected, our context has shifted. Our Te Kanapu positioning paper describes the changed context for Transpower since Whakamana i te Mauri Hiko and introduces our new initiative to develop and deliver a “grid blueprint” for the future. When complete, the future grid blueprint will provide a guide for our transmission infrastructure investment to 2050 and beyond.
Insights paper: Fuelling growth by enabling a diverse mix of generation
In June 2026 we published our insights paper, Fuelling growth by enabling a diverse mix of generation, which explores six different generation and storage options for meeting future demand, analysing the potential cost of each alongside its ability to deliver a reliable, sustainable supply.
This work suggests that diversity is key. That meeting new demand through a diverse range of generation technologies, geographically spread and shared via networks, may in the long term deliver the most affordable, reliable and sustainable outcome for everyone in New Zealand.
- Read the Insights paper and explore the data book here
- Watch the 40 minute webinar from 30 June on the Insights paper
About the name
‘Kanapu’ means both ‘lightning’ and ‘bright’. Lightning as the raw form of electricity is a key symbol on the pou whakairo (carving) in the entrance hall at Waikoukou, Transpower’s head office. ‘Te Kanapu’ speaks about the electrification and illumination of our country and Transpower’s goals for a bright, energised future.