The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Newsroom's Marc Daalder looks into a Gas Industry Company report about the costs of switching to electricity and speaks with Rewiring Aoteaora CEO Mike Casey and others about the 'war of words'.
When it comes to figuring out the costs of moving away from gas, who do you trust?
You could choose to trust the gas industry, which obviously wants to keep New Zealanders high on its supply.
Or you could choose to trust New Zealand households that have chosen to tell an independent organisation working hard to reduce customer energy bills and emissions how much money they’re saving by transitioning to fully electric homes.
Last week, the Gas Industry Company (GIC) released a report on the costs of switching to electricity. Our response was that it was misleading, it made incorrect efficiency comparisons, it used unrealistic assumptions for the uptake of technology like hot water heat pumps, and it completely failed to take account of solar and batteries.
As Casey said: “If you’re very pessimistic about the adoption of solar and batteries and hot water heat pumps, then you could probably draw a similar conclusion to what they’ve drawn. But when you look overseas and see what’s happening in Australia, I think there’s a degree of inevitability around large-scale adoption of efficient electric machines and the ability for us to generate and store electricity ourselves.”
We also questioned the disconnection costs the gas industry was quoting.
“This idea that it costs $2000 to disconnect gas – we know for a fact that it doesn’t take that. It takes probably a couple of hundred dollars. The gas industry wants to quote that price because it adds to the cost of moving off gas which of course makes their numbers look way better.”
The GIC is marking its own homework and cherrypicking numbers here. New Zealand homeowners - and decision makers - should be sprinkling these findings with plenty of salt.
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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