The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
RNZ's Eloise Gibson outlined how Clarus removed an ad that said 'renewable gas was now flowing' following complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority about misleading consumers. The issue was that the renewable gas was being blended with fossil gas and only made up a small fraction of the total. The bigger issue is that it's even more expensive than fossil gas (which is already more expensive than electric equivalents) and there's not enough of it to meet demand.
In the past, those who cared most generally had to pay more.
If you wanted to support local businesses, buy organic food, or get some solar panels in an effort to be a better human, you were likely faced with an environmental (or moral) premium in comparison to the other options.
It's still generally the case when it comes to buying food and many other products, but when it comes to energy, this has now been reversed.
Those who care more actually end up paying less because upgrading your fossil fuel machines to electric equivalents and producing your own energy to run them will save you thouands every year and slash your household's emissions.
This is why, as we like to say at Rewiring Aotearoa, gas in homes is dumb: it's more expensive than going electric, as the graphs from our electric homes report show, but you also need to pay more to give your kids asthma and pollute your community's air.
The gas industry has attempted to play on our desire to choose lower-impact options by talking up the promise of so-called renewable gas and Clarus volunatrily removed its ad (which featured the classic smiling family over the hob cooking pancakes).
It sounds good in theory, but it's actually even dumber than fossil gas, mostly because it's even more expensive and there's also nowhere near enough of it to match demand.
As the story said: "A Gas Transition Plan issues paper written by energy officials said biomethane blending could provide a low-emissions option and boost supply for consumers who were willing to pay a premium in order to continue using pipeline gas, but concluded it was unlikely to win out in the long-term over the cheaper option of electrification."
Kids who come across a coal range these days might wonder what it was for. Kids in the future who come across some strange metal things sticking out of the hob or a gas bottle attached to the house may soon wonder the same thing.
In the last Electric Avenue of 2025, we look at the two biggest trends in the world of energy; the Government goes electric for its fancy fleet upgrade; Nick Offerman offers his services to a US campaign extolling the virtues of EVs; Australia shows what's possible in new homes when you add solar, batteries and smart tech; a start-up selling portable solar and battery systems that wants it to be as easy and common as wi-fi; and The Lines Company looks to put some solar on the roof of the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.
Read moreDownloadWhen it comes to electric farming, "the numbers are becoming undeniable," says Nicholson Poultry's Jeff Collings. With 60kW of solar, a Nissan Leaf as a 'farm quad', electric mowers, an electric ute that can run a water blaster, and even a chicken manure scraper made out of a wrecked Tesla that, as Rewiring's Matt Newman says, looks a bit like something out of Mad Max, "almost everything is electric". There aren't many others in New Zealand who have gone this far down the electric road. And, with his electric Stark Varg, the fastest off-road motorbike in the world, he's obviously having plenty of fun on that road, too.
Read moreDownloadRNZ's Kate Newton reports on the "madness" of thousands of new piped gas connections being installed into houses every year, despite dwindling supplies and higher lifetime costs.
Casey said it was positive that the numbers showed people starting to leave the gas network of their own accord, but not all households were in a position to make that choice.
"If we don't plan for a decommissioning of the gas network, then it's going to be a chaotic transition, where vulnerable New Zealanders really suffer."
As the research of Rewiring and others has shown, gas is expensive, it's getting more expensive, it's terrible for your health when burned inside and there are substitutes available right now that, on average, do the same job for less money over the long run for households, would save the country billions on health costs and lost productivity, and don't pump out unnecessary emissions.
Around 300,000 homes and businesses have connections to the gas network (it’s estimated another 300,000 use more expensive bottled gas, mostly in the South Island). The number of active connections has started to decline recently and the country’s largest gas network, Vector, is forecasting no new residential or commercial connections after 2029.
Upfront capital costs are the main barrier for many homes, which is why we're working hard on a low-interest, long-term loan scheme that can be used to pay for electric upgrades, including hot water heat pumps. This would mean paying for a new thing with a loan would be cheaper than paying to run the old thing.
Read more about the scheme here.
Disconnection costs are also a major barrier. We have seen examples where households permanently disconnecting from the network have been charged between $1,000 and $2,000 to have a meter permanently removed (i.e. digging up the pipes to the road), even though it should only cost customers $200 to have the connection capped at the house.
RNZ even reported a case where a business customer was quoted $7,500 but took the case to Utilities Disputes, where complaints about disconnection costs have been rising.
The Australian Energy Regulator and the state of Victoria have now capped the disconnection fees to a few hundred dollars to stop this kind of behaviour and protect households.