We're pleased to launch the April 2026 edition of Simpson Grierson's Energy Outlook, where our experts examine the forces reshaping New Zealand's energy sector, and what they mean for investors, developers, and market participants.

Corporate Partner Simon Vannini spoke to BusinessDesk about the Outlook's key findings. Click here to read the interview published today [paywall].

New Zealand's energy sector was already in the middle of its most significant period of reform in a generation. Then a global energy shock arrived to remind everyone exactly why getting the transition right matters.

Our April Energy Outlook covers a domestic reform programme already reshaping the sector, and the new urgency the Middle East conflict has added to questions of energy security, supply chain resilience, and the pace of the renewables build-out.

Here's what's inside:

• The LNG import terminal decision: what it does and doesn't signal for the gas market
• Electricity market reforms moving from consultation to action
• Fast-track consenting: the projects getting through and what's driving momentum
• OIA reform and what it means for overseas investment in energy infrastructure
• Two landmark transactions: the Tauhei Solar Farm and the Datagrid hyperscale AI data centre

The decisions made in the next 12 months will shape the energy sector for a long time to come. If any of the issues covered in this edition are relevant to your business or projects, we'd welcome the opportunity to talk.