Dwindling gas supplies have largely been blamed for surging electricity prices in the dry winter of 2024. Here we look at what has been excluded from that discussion: the failure of NZ’s electricity industry to invest in sufficient renewable generation, and the role of New Zealand’s biggest gas user, Canadian methanol producer Methanex NZ.

This report examines how, since the sale of a majority stake to the global asset management company, Brookfield the Colombian energy company ISAGEN has reduced investments, increased profits, and appears to have shifted profits offshore, resulting in lower tax patments and reduced investment in the companys workforce.