Photo: RNZ

For a government facing blackouts and business closures in an election year, importing gas is an attractive choice. For others, it's the worst possible option.

When the government unveiled its long-awaited energy package earlier this year, the centrepiece was a promise to fast-track the import of overseas natural gas. Ministers said it would keep the lights on and protect industry as local gas reserves run dry.

But the response from almost every corner - other than the gas industry itself - was a collective groan. Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, is an answer of sorts to the country's energy security crisis, but not one most were hoping for.

Not only is imported gas expensive, it is also bad for the climate, and leaves us dependent on volatile global markets.

"LNG is not a good option for New Zealand. It's a duress position, a band-aid," says energy commentator Larry Blair.

Even the government's own independent review warned LNG should only ever be a last resort. Frontier Economics, which led the official Electricity Market Review, warned that importing LNG would expose New Zealand to international price shocks and make local exporters less competitive.

At best, it will buy the country a bit of time while it seeks a replacement for its dwindling domestic gas supply, Blair says. "It's like jamming a finger in the dike to hold back the flood."

For a government staring down the barrel of blackouts and business closures, however, LNG is an attractive short-term response. A terminal can be built relatively quickly, and it is a reliable fuel source that will slot easily into our current energy and electricity systems.

Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin

But critics - from consumer advocates to business groups to environmental lobbyists - say taking a short-term fix will only create another long-term problem, by locking New Zealand into its costly LNG investment even after the immediate need to shore up the gas supply is over.

It will also do little to fix our energy market's deeper structural problems and much to delay the inevitable transition to cheaper, greener, renewable energy, they say.

"Putting in LNG is counter-intuitive, because there are other options," says Consumer's Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge. "It doesn't make logical sense that you would buy expensive fuel when you have free fuel here - geothermal, wind and solar."

As ministers decide whether to proceed