‍May 27, 2025: Rewiring Aotearoa has today launched its 2025 policy manifesto and the organisation is calling for stronger political leadership to bring its vision of a cheaper, cleaner and stronger energy system to life. 

CEO Mike Casey says New Zealand stands at a critical moment in its energy transition. 

“Our energy system is expensive, emissions-intensive and vulnerable. New Zealanders are facing rising electricity, gas, and petrol costs, there are supply challenges for natural gas, and increasing pressure to find sustainable alternatives as reliance on fossil fuels becomes less viable. Our leaders need to start backing everyday New Zealanders, the country and the future rather than continuing to protect vested interests and fiddling around the edges of a broken system. Our policy manifesto shows what needs to be done to achieve that goal.” 

Electrification and a step change in customer participation through rooftop solar and batteries offer massive economic and environmental benefits, but major barriers - such as limited finance access, outdated regulations, and biased pricing structures - are holding the country back. 

The manifesto asks politicians across all parties, as well as regulators and officials, to focus on five key areas: 

• Have a compelling electrification vision and strategy to achieve this vision.
• Empower New Zealanders to electrify through accessible finance and better information.
• Invest in accelerating electrification so New Zealand can reap the full rewards.
• Push for fair rewards for customers making energy.
• Get rid of unnecessary red tape and modernise the rules.

“This is not some utopian dream,” says Casey, who is presenting at the three-day Electrify Queenstown conference. “It is an evidence-based plan using technology that is available and cost-effective right now. With a bit more ambition, some financial innovation and an overhaul of our processes and standards, we can start delivering savings and be on track for this future within the next 18 months.”

• Filter policies by their impact rating here. 

Casey says the recent Budget was another missed opportunity to enable a better energy future and while it could be argued there is now a subsidy on solar, batteries and EVs for businesses through the Investment Boost policy, these incentives apply to all purchases so it was not a strong electrification signal from the Government. There was also nothing there for households, which will play a pivotal role in our energy future. 

“New Zealanders are losing faith in the energy system as quickly as they are losing money. The sad thing is that it has never been cheaper to generate and store electricity through solar and batteries and our research shows there are significant savings on offer for households that go electric. This transition is already happening, but it’s not happening fast enough, or for the people who need it most, so we’re really focused on increasing the ambition of the current Government and the opposition parties ahead of next year’s election.” 

The manifesto shows that with an aggressive electrification push New Zealand could: 

• Save $29 million per day or $11 billion per year by 2040 by avoiding fossil fuels - and that’s just the households. 
• Avoid 212 million tonnes of emissions by 2050, which is equivalent to almost three times 2023’s total. 
• Increase energy independence by reducing the approximately $20 billion we spend each year on 3.1 million tonnes of mostly imported fossil fuels.
• Improve energy security and resilience during dry years and major weather events.  
• Avoid billions of dollars of unnecessary investment in big electricity infrastructure, which is set to make up the bulk of customers’ bill increases in the coming years.

“People will rightly ask about the costs of the policies in this manifesto, but our current system is what's costing us. We continue to waste billions each year on some of the world's most expensive fossil fuels when we could instead be running more efficient electric machines on locally produced renewable electricity and keep more of that money in our communities. We also continue to over-invest in expensive infrastructure, which New Zealanders pay for. The policies laid out in our manifesto should not be seen as a cost; they are an opportunity to invest and save, an opportunity to create a more productive economy, and an opportunity to show the world what's possible.”

Casey says New Zealand can lay claim to a number of visionary policies and ideas, from giving women the right to vote to creating ACC; from building state houses to enforcing a nuclear free policy. 

“What’s less well-known is that we are also renowned as pioneers in the world in renewable electricity and we have a once-in-a-generation chance to send the world a postcard from a cheaper, cleaner and stronger electrified future.” 

Rewiring Aotearoa’s Machine Count showed that it is now possible and cost-effective in the vast majority of cases to electrify fossil fuel machines so it is now in our national interest (and our economic self-interest) to use more locally-made electrons, rather than continuing to rely on foreign fossil fuel molecules. 

“At Forest Lodge, our vision was to create the world’s first all-electric cherry orchard. Many told us it wouldn't be possible, but we worked hard, we achieved our goal and we’re reaping the benefits. We believe New Zealand has a chance to once again be seen as a place of pioneers and lead the world through this energy transition. So, we ask our leaders: where’s the vision? Who are you here for? And what could Aotearoa New Zealand be remembered for? Whakahiko te ao! Let’s electrify everything!”

‍