What NZ’s Electrical Grid Might Look Like In 2050 – Expert Reaction31 July 2026The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has used an updated model of the whole energy system to understand what the country’s energy use might look like in 2050. “The two EECA Scenarios look forward 25 years to 2050. “The main conclusions from the SHIFT scenario are to increase flexible energy demand and energy storage in batteries to reduce daily peak electricity demand and thus save costs. This has been verified in the past few days when the very cold weather caused a record electricity demand. I recall that the last experiment we undertook with TIMES was to examine the prospect of industrial use of green hydrogen in NZ’s energy future.