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We know that going electric can help reduce household bills, but the upfront costs are still a big barrier for many. Getting past that requires access to finance and that's now closer than ever.
As Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey explains, Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Hutt City and New Plymouth District have all signed on as shareholding / founding councils for the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, with EECA also chipping in to get the infrastructure set up.
Our policy manifesto ranked low-interest, long-term electrification loans that are tied to properties as the idea that would have the biggest impact on New Zealand's electrification ambitions - and on household bills. That's one part of this scheme, which has required a lot of hard worked from us, Local Government New Zealand and Local Government Funding Agency, so it's great to see so much support for it.
It means that households will be more easily able to do things like install solar, batteries and hot water heat pumps and they can pay the loan back over time or, depending on circumstances, when the property sells.
This is big news and it will unlock a lot of potential. Now it's time to build public momentum for this.
How the sun led to higher salaries for teachers in the US and why this should be happening here, too; how "the once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world" as electrification gives more countries a productivity boost (and how that would allow New Zealand to keep embracing our long, languid summer break); solar continues to weather storms and provide 'free resilience'; Dunedin laundry company Preens goes electric and saves over 300 utes worth of emissions; the company that wants you to drink diesel exhaust; and a wonderful rundown of the Kill Bills tour - and the national electrification opportunity - from one of the tour sponsors.
Read moreDownloadAs gas supplies decline and prices rise, electrification is the best bet, but it's hard for big businesses without government support. Kirsty Johnston talks to Rainbow Nurseries about how it made the switch with help from a grant, and others who are unsure they will be able to keep getting gas. As one busines owner said: "We never considered the risk to the business of not actually having natural gas," one participant said. "We always expect that the price could fluctuate… But we never anticipated maybe having no gas coming from the pipeline." There are ways for the Government to help. And there is a huge amount of new renewable electricity coming on stream, so there won't be a shortage of electrons.
Read moreDownloadMarc Daalder reports on Vector's declining gas network and how it is responding to falling customer numbers. As he writes: "Gas in Auckland is formally past its peak in the latest forecasts from Vector, the city’s only gas distribution business, with new connections set to fall to zero in three years ... From 2029, there would be no new residential or commercial connections – with new industrial connections projected to have already ceased this year."
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