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Labour's Jo Luxton, a list MP contesting the East Cape electorate, is next up on our Political Power series, and she's a fair way down the electric path.
The so-called "princess of the provinces" has electric cooking and heating at home, but the hot water still runs on gas.
"I'd love to do solar, but it's got to be affordable , right," she says (it's already affordable because it's the cheapest electricity homes can get, but there's an access issue; here's something we prepared earlier on that www.rewiring.nz/ras).
Luxton did have a fully electric car when she was living in the South Island, but a shift to the East Coast saw her go back to a hybrid as the range (and also the lack of charging infrastructure) meant it was hard to make it around the region. Many newer EVs now with ranges of over 600km, so there's less need to, as we like to say, 'half-ass it with a hybrid' these days.
As for her predictions on what the energy system will look like in 2040, she sums up our dreams pretty well: "I hope there's a whole lot more electric, actually, and I hope that everyone has solar. That would be amazing, right?"
See all our Political Power interviews here ⚡https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2NZIJNQSg6QhkQc8DIdR9JSn0f0zz6zi
Political Power has gone local! Dr Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson and ex-National Party minister, is an early adopter when it comes to electric machines but, through his efforts with the council and his close involvement with the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, he's also embracing one of Rewiring's core mantras: once you've electrified your own life, electrify someone else's life, too.
Read moreDownloadWhether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
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