The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
One of Rewiring's key objectives for 2025 is to grow the number of community electrification groups. And Jay Salzke, who started as ecosystem lead late last year, has been travelling the country to help spark them up.
As he says: “Since coming on board, my focus has been on building the foundation for a thriving network of electric communities nationwide. This includes developing a Community Activation Strategy, creating readily available resources for communities to use and distribute as well as touring Australia’s community groups to bring learnings back to Aotearoa. Most importantly, I have been busy forming relationships with community leaders across the country, and through our conversations, shifted thinking toward developing rapid electrification pathways for their local community. We now have groups formed/forming in Wairarapa, Kāpiti, Paekākāriki, Dunedin, Waiheke, Wānaka, Grey Lynn, Castle Hill, Lower Hutt, Taranaki, Christchurch, Tairāwhiti, Queenstown, Northland, Marlborough, Tasman and Hawke’s Bay.”
The momentum so far is really exciting and just as we are trying to build a more decentralised energy system, we are also building a decentralised community movement where every region takes a slightly different approach based on the needs of the community.
"Whether it’s Kāpiti building capability in residents to understand their energy bills and plan their electric transition, Wairarapa’s successful two-day conference and expo, or Wānaka’s regular information stalls in the community, we’re seeing groups move faster than the ones that precede them."
With the backing of Rewiring Aotearoa, electric communities are putting wins on the board too: Electrify Grey Lynn has secured council funding, Waiheke has developed a comprehensive work plan and working groups (including a bulk buy plan!) and Queenstown has planned a three-day electrification event with international speakers for May.
As the year rolls on, we’ll see more pilot programmes and electric conversions thanks to our electric communities.
"We'll also continue to get in front of more regions to catalyse local movements, and invest in channels that help groups learn from and communicate with each other. Electric communities will be instrumental as advocates for the necessary policy and regulatory changes we’re working toward, too. Local action is crucial to Rewiring’s mission."
In the last Electric Avenue of 2025, we look at the two biggest trends in the world of energy; the Government goes electric for its fancy fleet upgrade; Nick Offerman offers his services to a US campaign extolling the virtues of EVs; Australia shows what's possible in new homes when you add solar, batteries and smart tech; a start-up selling portable solar and battery systems that wants it to be as easy and common as wi-fi; and The Lines Company looks to put some solar on the roof of the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.
Read moreDownloadWhen it comes to electric farming, "the numbers are becoming undeniable," says Nicholson Poultry's Jeff Collings. With 60kW of solar, a Nissan Leaf as a 'farm quad', electric mowers, an electric ute that can run a water blaster, and even a chicken manure scraper made out of a wrecked Tesla that, as Rewiring's Matt Newman says, looks a bit like something out of Mad Max, "almost everything is electric". There aren't many others in New Zealand who have gone this far down the electric road. And, with his electric Stark Varg, the fastest off-road motorbike in the world, he's obviously having plenty of fun on that road, too.
Read moreDownloadRNZ's Kate Newton reports on the "madness" of thousands of new piped gas connections being installed into houses every year, despite dwindling supplies and higher lifetime costs.
Casey said it was positive that the numbers showed people starting to leave the gas network of their own accord, but not all households were in a position to make that choice.
"If we don't plan for a decommissioning of the gas network, then it's going to be a chaotic transition, where vulnerable New Zealanders really suffer."
As the research of Rewiring and others has shown, gas is expensive, it's getting more expensive, it's terrible for your health when burned inside and there are substitutes available right now that, on average, do the same job for less money over the long run for households, would save the country billions on health costs and lost productivity, and don't pump out unnecessary emissions.
Around 300,000 homes and businesses have connections to the gas network (it’s estimated another 300,000 use more expensive bottled gas, mostly in the South Island). The number of active connections has started to decline recently and the country’s largest gas network, Vector, is forecasting no new residential or commercial connections after 2029.
Upfront capital costs are the main barrier for many homes, which is why we're working hard on a low-interest, long-term loan scheme that can be used to pay for electric upgrades, including hot water heat pumps. This would mean paying for a new thing with a loan would be cheaper than paying to run the old thing.
Read more about the scheme here.
Disconnection costs are also a major barrier. We have seen examples where households permanently disconnecting from the network have been charged between $1,000 and $2,000 to have a meter permanently removed (i.e. digging up the pipes to the road), even though it should only cost customers $200 to have the connection capped at the house.
RNZ even reported a case where a business customer was quoted $7,500 but took the case to Utilities Disputes, where complaints about disconnection costs have been rising.
The Australian Energy Regulator and the state of Victoria have now capped the disconnection fees to a few hundred dollars to stop this kind of behaviour and protect households.