The Prime Minister opened the door for a reversal this week when he said the LNG terminal would only go ahead if the commercials stacked up. 

"Those commercials were already dubious, but they have changed considerably since the conflict in Iran started. The decision also had an impact on the private sector, with Channel Infrastructure pausing its diesel peaker project at Marsden Point immediately after it was announced."

Casey says there have been plenty of concerns raised about the LNG terminal and the way it was to be funded - from a diverse range of groups.

“That's probably why energy has been handed back to one of National's most senior ministers, Simeon Brown," Casey says. "It's deeply unpopular and they need to kick it. Let's be honest, it's a trojan horse to delay our transition off gas to save them money and lets the oil and gas industry gamble $200M of taxpayers’ money to strike it lucky with a new domestic gas field."

Casey hopes the new energy minister, who previously held the portfolio, will be able to look at energy security and affordability with a fresh pair of eyes ahead of the election.

"We look forward to sharing with him our alternative plan, which solves the dry year issue, reduces costs for New Zealanders and frees up two-thirds of our domestic gas for far less than a large and risky market intervention that would not significantly reduce bills for everyday New Zealanders."

• Check our our nzmadeenergy.nz alternative.

MegaWatts may have hung up the cape when it comes to energy, but he still has a chance to be a hero to voters this election by making it far easier for homes, farms and businesses to electrify their gas appliances and put solar on their rooftops and batteries in their garage. 

He said yesterday at the Downstream conference that he was “frustrated with the slow progress around energy affordability”. There is a policy sitting in front of the Government right now that could save New Zealanders $1,000 to $2,000 per year - the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme - and Watts could enable it now and have it delivering savings to households by the end of the year.  

The scheme is also supported by Auckland Council, so it will be of interest to him given his new Minister for Auckland role.

While some question the role of rooftop solar and batteries, there are over four million Australian homes saving thousands each year on their bills with this technology and many additional Australians will benefit from free power in the middle of the day. A lot of a little is a lot and 80% of homes with good sized systems would add around 40% more generation in New Zealand and 50,000 farms with solar (ideally on unproductive land) would produce another 60%.

“Personally, I really liked Simon Watts. He seemed to understand how much electrification could do for New Zealanders and for New Zealand, but ultimately he picked a white elephant and learned they’re very hard to carry.”

Casey says there is still time to take action for consumers and enable Energy Impact Loans through the RAS this term. And there is also a chance to help more New Zealanders save money in EVs in his role as Minister of Revenue through fringe benefit tax relief and accelerated depreciation for businesses and salary sacrifice leasing schemes for workers that could get them into a new EV for $200 per week with insurance, charging and maintenance all covered.

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