The fuel crisis has given new force to the arguments of electricity advocates. With petrol prices at record highs and the LNG terminal – the government’s centrepiece response to dry-year risk – now in jeopardy after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent LNG prices soaring, the case for rooftop solar has sharpened considerably. For proponents, the combination of an EV and solar power offers a way to decouple from both a captive electricity market and a fossil fuel economy that are simultaneously failing consumers.

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Writing in Newsroom, Rewiring Aotearoa’s Mike Casey argues that the gentailers, for all their public commitments to customers, “still fight behind the scenes to maintain their advantage and keep bills high.” He is equally pointed about the government: it “should be looking out for the customer” but is also “the largest shareholder of the existing system”, creating an ongoing structural conflict. The government needs to wrestle away some of the industry’s power and “help New Zealanders take control of their own energy destiny” by throwing its support behind solar, he says.

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“Anyone who keeps the price of electricity high for New Zealanders is going against our national interests”, he writes. “So fasten your seatbelt. This electric election is going to be a wild ride.”

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