As Rewiring CEO Mike Caseysaid, "putting rooftop solar on a household in New Zealand substantially lowers electricity bills. Yet what we've seen time and time again is we've kind of left the energy system up to its own devices - but electricity bills just continue to go up".

"That's why I think it's super important we now look at making sure that if it's not going to come from industry because it's not necessarily in their best interests, well, then it really needs to come from central government."

Stats NZ figures show household energy costs have risen by 173% since 2001, despite plenty of 'downward pressure on prices'. The cost of communications has declined by 30% in the same time, which is what technological advancement is meant to do to prices.

Energy Minister Simon Watts told RNZ that he was "focussed on making energy more affordable ... I acknowledge the valuable role that solar and batteries can play in New Zealand's energy system."

We believe Energy Impact Loans through the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, which would allow households to finance solar and other electric machines over the long-term at low interest rates, will significantly increase adoption and could save gas-dependent homes around $2,000 per year. The Government has a chance to make that happen by adding it to the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill, which we have submitted on and will talk to in the Select Committee process this week.

And while subsidies aren't needed to make solar economic, the Australian example shows that if you want to roll things out very quickly and help create economic activity, incentives can play a big role. We hope to see a few of them being offered at the electric election in November.

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