Don't listen to Old Man Gas. Ditch LNG. Support New Zealand-made energy!
Annie Jefferson from A2W is always in hot water.
Through A2W, she's a staunch advocate for hot water heat pumps, which are quickly growing in popularity here like they have in Australia, and a big supporter of the community electrification movement.
She can often be found at electrification events - from Electrify Wairarapa to Electrify the Hutt - explaining the latest tech for water and space heating and running people through the process of upgrading old cylinders or retrofitting gas systems.
Heat pump technology can significantly reduce energy bills (and the country's emissions) and she has grasped that installing them is also a big business opportunity. We're going to need a lot of trusted tradies to nail our electric transition and, as demand ramps up, the herding mentality takes hold and the community movement continues to push things in an electric direction, the business owners who embrace it early, like Jefferson, and the entrepreneurs who develop companies to solve customer problems, stand to benefit the most.
Political Power has gone local! Dr Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson and ex-National Party minister, is an early adopter when it comes to electric machines but, through his efforts with the council and his close involvement with the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, he's also embracing one of Rewiring's core mantras: once you've electrified your own life, electrify someone else's life, too.
Read moreDownloadWhether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
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