Hipkins invited us to his house in The Hutt recently to check out his set up and talk about the potential for New Zealand customers to play a bigger role in the energy system.

He says he reluctantly gave up his diesel car and went electric, but he wouldn't go back. And while he loved cooking with gas, he's now got an induction cooktop that he loves more.

It can be a mental hurdle to make these shifts, he says, but research suggests that most people who do are very happy with their decision.

The Hipkins house has quite a few humans in it and he got solar and batteries to avoid rising electricity prices. He also saw homes with these technologies fare much better after Cyclone Gabrielle and it made sense to him to consume electricity where it's produced and to do his bit to reduce strain on the grid.

He was able to get a green loan to pay off his 12kW solar and battery system, so he'll attempt to pay it off in five years, but the issue with those loans is that it actually increases energy/finance bills initially and only a small number of people are eligible for them. That's why we need our politicians to support the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, which will offer long-term low-interest loans for electric upgrades and actually help address the cost of living.

Find out more about the scheme in our in-depth explainer 'the case for energy loans'.

Rewiring Aotearoa is a fiercely independent organisation and we've got a list of candidates from all the parties lined up for this series, but if you know of any MPs who are leading by example, let us know and we can try and showcase them, too.

Some go electric for the savings. Some do it for sustainability. Some do it for security. But the important thing is that they do it. Politicians are no different and, whatever their motivations, we hope the ones who have gone electric will be more likely to amp up the ambition next year and pitch some policies that make it easier for New Zealanders to follow their lead.

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