Electricity price fall 'positive signal' for switch from fossil fuels

Falling wholesale electricity prices could give some businesses more confidence to switch from fossil fuels to renewable power, an electricity sector advocacy group says.

Electricity Retailers and Generators Association chief executive Bridget Abernethy said wholesale prices were sitting at some of their lowest winter levels in more than a decade.

She said July wholesale prices were averaging about $75 a megawatt-hour, making it the lowest average July price in more than 10 years.

Electricity Authority forward price data also shows Ōtāhuhu futures prices for 2027, 2028 and 2029 have fallen by about 30 percent over the past year .

Abernethy said the fall was partly due to strong hydro storage but also reflected a bigger shift as more renewable generation and batteries came into the system.

"We've seen a lot of renewable generation come online recently, so there's been a big upswing in renewable generation build, including batteries," she said.