New Zealand’s National Party unveiled its “Electrify NZ 2.0” policy on October 1-2, 2026, requiring new AI data centres to finance or arrange their own firmed power generation capacity instead of drawing from the existing grid. Data centres currently account for 0.6% of the country’s electricity consumption and this share is projected to reach approximately 3% by 2030. Datagrid is planning a 280 MW campus near Invercargill, a facility that could rival the power consumption of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. Mercury Energy already signed a 15-year, 140 MW Power Purchase Option Agreement with Datagrid in March 2026, effectively previewing what the formal framework would require. The policy aims to protect households and businesses from rising prices driven by tech companies competing for electricity while potentially attracting between $25 billion and $35 billion in AI infrastructure investment.
Source: Read the original article
