No, you can still connect to both. Gas connections are not banned.

In 2021, the Climate Change Commission recommended Government consider a date to end new connections. Government did not act on this advice by way of a ban. As at September 2023, the Climate Change Commission is consulting on Draft Advice on the Second Emissions Reduction Plan (2026-2030).

There is no ban on gas connections or delivering gas and LPG to New Zealand homes and businesses and we fully expect natural gas and LPG will continue to be delivered to connected consumers until we’ve fully moved to new low and zero carbon gases, likely to be by 2050.

Around 600,000 Kiwi households use LPG and natural gas energy every day for cooking, hot water and heating.

Natural gas alone currently powers over 19,000 businesses and industrial users such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals and steel makers. Natural gas is also used to generate electricity, to supplement New Zealand’s renewable electricity generation.

Moving to renewable energy is likely to increase the cost of all types of energy. Renewable gases are likely to be more expensive than today’s gas, but are expected to remain good value and competitive with other energy sources.

If you currently own an appliance that uses natural gas or LPG, our expectation is that you’ll be able to use it for its expected lifetime (typically up to 15 years). Blending gases will be an important part of our journey as we scale up to low and zero carbon gas energy, and most modern gas appliances are already able to run on a blend of natural gas and renewable hydrogen gas (up to 20 percent) or biogas. Newer compatible appliances are expected to become widely available as we move towards a more renewable gas future.

No worries there. For now, you can keep using your gas BBQ and buying LPG bottles. In the future we expect you’ll be able to use renewable bioLPG instead of LPG to fuel the barbie and help us bring about a net zero carbon Aotearoa. Or you may even be cooking up a feast on a hydrogen BBQ!

Internationally the production of bioLPG is well-established, producing over 460,000 tonnes globally each year and moving it around Europe.

New Zealand could likely make and import easily enough renewable LPG to cover our current LPG use, and research suggests we could replace 30 percent of LPG demand with renewable LPG by 2035.

Future gas blending trials are already underway with the goal of introducing blended gas energy by 2024.

Existing natural gas and LPG will continue to be delivered to consumers as the blends increase towards 100 percent future gases by 2050.

Just like today’s gas, these new gases will be subject to rigorous safety protocols and standards before they are available.

Currently, direct gas energy use by Kiwi homes produces less than 1 percent of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The more we can introduce renewable gas, the more these emissions will fall.

Natural gas and LPG are important parts of New Zealand’s current energy mix. In the future, we would like to see renewable gases as part of that mix, by promoting their uptake we help to make this a reality.

Future Sure’s goal is to increase demand for renewable gases by increasing awareness of them. Future Sure partner companies are committed to a net zero carbon future and while individual company strategies may pursue different pathways to reduce their carbon emissions, they are united in seeing renewable gases as part of the solution.