“We encouraged the Ministry to go back to the start and look at this from the customer’s perspective. That is exactly what they’ve done - and there is clear room to improve, which will make our installation processes faster, and lower cost, as can be seen in Australia.” 

He says the report shows that the solar installation process is a complicated, inefficient one. 

• Read the full report here

“With 29 different lines companies and different rules across different councils, it’s like there are lots of 1000 piece puzzles and someone’s mixed all the pieces up. We’ve been impressed that the Ministry has come in from the outside, examined how the system works now for everyday New Zealanders and suggested some logical improvements and other areas outside the scope of the report that deserve more scrutiny. If its recommendations are followed, solar could be more like a puzzle designed for a toddler and that’s a good thing.” 

When the review was announced by Minister of Regulation David Seymour at Casey’s all-electric cherry orchard back in May, Rewiring received feedback from those with solar and some solar installers asking why it was necessary. 

“They felt there was ‘nothing to see here’, but we felt the inefficiencies in the system were adding up to a lot of extra time and cost for customers. The report backs that up and shows that addressing these issues will cut people’s wait times, save money and let more people benefit from the cheapest electricity New Zealanders can get.” 

Deputy Prime Minister Seymour said in a release that there are significant savings available to customers by “getting the Government off your roof” - and big benefits for the economy. 

“Recommendations could deliver net benefits of between $28 million and $50 million over 10 years. This is through lower compliance costs, reduced delays, and the use of plug in solar.” 

Among the report’s recommendations are that installs up to 300kW wouldn’t require resource consent. 

“This is good for farmers and would make it a permitted activity status across all councils. That’s something we have been advocating for, alongside Federated Farmers, and it will be enough for all but the most power hungry farms. There will be sensible rules within that.” 

It says plug-in solar, which Rewiring encouraged the Ministry to include in its review, could be legalised in 9-12 months. 

• Read an explainer on plug-in solar here

Seymour says: “Plug-in systems can be used by renters and people living in apartments who can’t access traditional rooftop solar. If they’re good enough for Germany and the UK, they’re good enough for us.” 

“This is positive, but we think they should aim for under nine. Everyone wants it, politicians from across the spectrum are talking about it, and it’s proven to be safe for millions of people around the world. Let’s get on with it.”

The report also recommended approvals for residential solar be granted by lines companies by the end of the next working day or under a week for 100kW. Distributors should also clearly show homeowners where there are congestion zones that might affect that approval process.  

“There are already examples of lines companies that approve installs automatically. This should be standard practice across the country. And, as for congestion, the grid can always benefit from more batteries.”

The report also proposed changes to the inspection process. 

“If you are an endorsed electrician and work with an accredited installer, you will have the ability to self-certify your own work. There will still be spot checks and photos and video of installs may be required. For those worried about safety or quality, this recommendation draws on international best practice. We are well behind other countries when it comes to adoption of solar so we need to be looking to markets that have improved the inspection layer without any negative impacts.” 

Importantly, it recommended the Government randomly assign jobs to independent inspectors. 

As the report said: “This would also seek to mitigate the conflicts of interests inherent in the current system ensuring that checks at the beginning of the process (i.e. accreditation) and the end of the process (i.e. spot checks) are genuinely independent and provide robust safety assurances.

Casey says the Ministry is not recommending an instant switch to this inspection model and instead suggests a trial. 

“That is prudent, but we think the trial will work because it already works in other markets.” 

Casey said that whatever your view on subsidies, enacting these recommendations would make any public money that is directed towards solar and batteries go much further. 

The Ministry also highlighted some areas that were out of the scope of this review but that deserved more consideration. 

“It found that customers are getting screwed on exports and it suggested changes to tariffs and multiple trading relationships to help level the playing field,” says Casey. “Households also find it hard to engage with the sector, and rules are routinely not adhered to by power and lines companies.” 

One of the big outtakes was that the regulatory regime was very fragmented. 

The report said: “The way responsibilities are set up makes it harder to take a whole-of-system view. Agencies are mainly focused on delivering their own mandates. Over time, this has led to a system that has grown more complex and less joined up, which can limit coordination and make it harder to respond to issues that cut across the system.”

It says this may also help explain why there is limited visibility for agencies of how costly and time-consuming the customer journey can be. 

“This fragmentation affects the wider energy sector, not just solar, and we will have more to say about that soon. Put simply, the current system isn’t delivering for the modern era and we need a big change.” 

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ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview with Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey, contact Ben Fahy at ben@rewiring.nz or 021 245 4894. Images of Casey are available here.

Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent charity working on energy, climate and electrification research, advocacy and education. The New Zealand-based team consists of energy, policy, communications and community outreach experts and it is funded by New Zealand-based philanthropists including Sir Stephen Tindall and Urs Hölzle. While we are selling the achievable dream of a more secure, resilient, productive, affordable and renewable energy system, we do not financially benefit from sales of solar, EVs or any of the electric technologies we advocate for.

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