
Rewiring Aotearoa is very supportive of the Electricity Authority’s introduction of requirements for distributors to provide payments for exports at peak based on the avoided long run marginal cost of peak demand. This will fairly support consumers to invest in batteries and encourage people to supply surplus energy to the network when it is needed, benefiting all customers through lower electricity costs that we all pay through our power bills. To unlock the full extent of these benefits it is important that the intended group of customers have access to these payments. This intended group is the small businesses who do not have the bargaining power to negotiate fair benefits. It excludes large customers who are already more likely to be rewarded for the benefits their injection (exports) provides. Unfortunately the preferred proposal the Electricity Authority (the Authority) has set out in this consultation will not achieve this, and will reduce benefits to customers and does not align with the Authority's statutory objectives.
Read moreDownload the document hereWhen Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
Read moreDownload