Aotearoa's hooked on coal, importing more than one million tonnes of low grade coal from Indonesia last year.
The fuel was burnt at the Huntly power station to keep the lights on, as gas fields, hydro and wind turbines failed to meet demand.
The government says it is working on the complex problem, but a solution won't come quickly.
It's touting its investigations into the Lake Onslow battery project as a way to reduce fossil fuel use, but even if everything goes to plan construction wouldn't begin there until 2024.
National Party energy spokesperson Barbara Kuriger spoke to Corin Dann.
The Energy and Resources Minister, Megan Woods, declined to come on the programme this morning, but said in a statement:
"Unfortunately fossil fuels continue to play a prominent role in the security of electricity supply due to the structure of New Zealand's electricity system, especially in providing cover for dry hydrological years, such as we have been experiencing.
"This Government has not been satisfied with this reliance on fossil fuels and last year we backed up our goal to have a fully renewable electricity grid with a $30 million investigation into solving the dry year problem."
