Ellison says affluence was one of the key drivers in solar uptake.

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“That highlights the gap between how solar should be rolling out and how it is currently rolling out, which is that people who need the solar savings most are the people who don’t have the spare income to spend $20,000 on solar panels up front,” he said.

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“Someone spending $20,000 on solar panels up front might save $60,000 over the life of those panels. Generally speaking, with all costs included – including finance – the savings are about $1000 a year for an average home across the country. People who need the $1000 a year of savings the most are lower-income homes, but ultimately it’s harder for them to make the upfront purchase.”

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If the energy system optimised for lower household bills for consumers, the market would be incentivising home solar and batteries. Instead, the market is focused on wholesale power prices and profits for the gentailers, he said.

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“If that was the optimisation that NZ Inc was going for, our energy companies would be installing solar and batteries en masse across households, but our regulatory system design creates a different incentive to that, which is why that’s not happening. And of course, it is also contributing to how much bills are rising.”

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