The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
The Opportunity Party has been hovering around the magical 5% mark in recent polls and, as deputy leader Daniel Eb says in our latest Political Power interview, he's about 66.6% of the way to a fully electric life at home.
Eb says he's gone electric for a range of reasons: he cooks with induction because he's conscious about the health of his daughter and wants to limit the toxins in the air; the gas hot water was swapped out for a hot water heat pump because he's keen on saving money; and an EV has recently been added to the mix for more price stability.
He enjoys heating the water or charging the car at times when power is cheapest. As he says, it's almost like your get to curate your energy and find ways to gamify the system.
When the fuel crisis hit, they moved fast and got one of the last remaining second-hand Nissan Leafs as a second car and he says it's a lot of fun to drive.
He's already taken a few friends for test drives so he's embracing the neighbourhood effect and trying to inspire them to upgrade, too. As he says, pretty much no-one ever goes back once they've gone electric.
Generation and storage is the next step so he's looking at adding solar and batteries. He says he likes consistency and they've had to deal with a few power cuts recently.
Opportunity has an Abundant Energy Policy that fully embraces electrification. And he says the party believes in the 'invest now, save later' principle.
"Everyone approaches it from a different lens," he says. Some will look at the economics. Some will look at the environment. And he looks at it from the perspective of "security, sovereignty, stability and resilience".
"The world is a pretty unstable place and it's probably going to get a little bit worse before it gets better ... but through that transition I want Kiwis to be secure, I want my family to be secure, so that's the big thing that drives our push for renewable generation, and onshoring our energy generation."
Eb says he'll continue to beat the drum about the energy choices he's making at home because "we like to share the good news and we're excited about it".
Watch the full interview and all the Political Power interviews here⚡
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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