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On Nine to Noon, Kathryn Ryan looked at the growing issue of homes with piped or bottled gas facing increasing prices and fewer choices, "as complaints about services doubled in the last year. And it's not just households."
Consumer NZ's Paul Fuge spoke about the 'gas death spiral', where the prices for those who are stuck on the network continue to increase as other leave, and unnecessarily high fees for disconnections, while Gas NZ chief executive Jeffrey Clarke said there "is still a future for gas as a fuel out to 2050 and beyond".
We do need gas for some sectors and for some electricity generation, but gas in homes (and most businesses) is dumb, in large part because there is already a cheaper alternative - electric machines run with renewable electricity.
If history is any guide, the price of gas is likely to continue rising much faster than the rate of inflation.
We are already seeing schools, councils and other businesses like vegetable growers that rely on gas feeling the effects of massive price rises and limited choice. So don't get trapped in the spiral.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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