News & Updates

Solar and batteries - in homes and EVs - offer signicant resilience benefits during times of crisis and the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme can help unlock private investment.

Electrification is the single biggest opportunity to improve fuel security in New Zealand and that's why we think we need a bold national energy independence plan, not just more incremental changes to our current fuel security plan.

Unmanaged EV charging that occurs at network and system peaks could add unnecessary electricity infrastructure investment, increasing bills for all customers. Investment in our networks is scaled to meet peak demands and has the potential to significantly increase electricity bills over the coming decades. It is important we take action to shift demand, where it makes sense, to avoid peak demand increases. Rewiring Aotearoa is very supportive of the efforts the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment is taking to consider options to deliver a more flexible electricity system that will lower system costs for all consumers. Uptake of smart EV chargers is one way to manage peak EV demand and support a lower system cost. However we do not think there is a strong enough case to mandate that all fixed EV charging units sold in New Zealand must be smart.

Rewiring Aotearoa supports the proposed changes to Multiple Trading Relationships (MTR) (allowing two traders – distributed generation and consumption), which will increase consumer choice and introduce more competition to retail tariffs. For example, it will disincentivise tariffs that offer competitive export tariffs, but also ramp up consumption tariffs. The Electricity Authority should also implement changes at this time that require retailers to allow large sites to share solar across multiple co-located installation control points (ICPs, i.e. ICP aggregation), and facilitate peer to peer trading for small scale renewable generators with local sites. Rewiring Aotearoa disagrees that delaying these steps via a staged approach is in consumers best interest. Consumers should not have to wait until demand increases to unlock the benefits of their solar and battery systems or access more competitive options from retailers. This should be supported now, to help consumers make investment and retail tariff decisions that reduce their overall energy bills.

We appreciate that broader resource management reform is underway that will ultimately provide a more consistent national framework. However, we cannot afford to wait for the perfect system while workable solutions are delayed. In the meantime, inconsistent and unnecessary consenting requirements for small-scale ground-mounted solar are slowing down projects that could deliver immediate benefits - lowering energy costs, strengthening resilience, and supporting the grid. While long-term reform is important, immediate adjustments will ensure small-scale solar isn’t held back by outdated or inconsistent rules.

"Investing in natural gas in homes doesn’t make economic sense anymore for New Zealanders ... Rewiring Aotearoa’s view is that the Government should support a managed transition away from natural gas for the homes and non-industrial businesses connected to reticulated natural gas distribution networks. This would help address inequity for households on low incomes and renters, and provide greater certainty over how quickly customers will disconnect, when networks would likely retire and cost recovery timelines."

Rewiring Aotearoa's submission highlights that successful digitalisation should allow customers to maximise benefits from their provision of demand flexibility and solar and battery exports, without third parties (aggregators or VPPs) routinely taking a cut of the value. Retail offerings that include time of use prices and fair export tariffs will be key enablers of successful digitalisation of the electricity system. Customers need a fair deal through their electricity prices and export tariffs. This means the customers need to have the option to choose from a range of retail tariffs that include time of use prices, fair export tariffs (that reflect the value in the wholesale market) and symmetrical export tariffs from distributors.

Rewiring Aotearoa is extremely supportive of the focus the Electricity Authority is putting into exploring opportunities and seeking views on a more ‘decentralised’ electricity system. It’s great to see the release of the Green Paper seeking views from New Zealanders on the role they can play in the future electricity system and how a more decentralised electricity system should evolve. As the Green Paper explains New Zealanders will benefit from a more decentralised, community-centric energy system through lower energy bills, greater energy resilience, fuel security and lower emissions. However there are some assumptions and emphasis in the Green Paper that we think needs to change

Rewiring Aotearoa is supportive of the Innovation and non-traditional solutions allowance (INTSA) and the development of Guidance for submissions. Read our full submission by downloading the document.

While the potential implications of the Bill are wide-ranging, our submission has focused on the potential implications for the electrification of Aotearoa NZ if the Bill is enacted as proposed. This is pertinent to Rewiring’s work, because one of our core aims is to help reduce energy bills for customers - NZ’s households, farms, and businesses. Significant changes are needed to fix the status quo, and we are concerned that the Bill may inadvertently bake in the existing rules governing the sector.

Rewiring Aotearoa is supportive of the development of Publicly Available Specification for Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems guidelines. These guidelines can provide a consolidated and trusted source of information to help households navigate the process of choosing and installing solar PV and batteries. There is some messaging and information in the PAS that we think needs to be changed or added to provide households with the best advice to support them to maximise benefits from solar PV and batteries. This includes removing the focus on pay back periods and informing households about cost savings from day one from solar PV and batteries financed over the life of the system. Households also need information about the potential risks of some existing lease to own sales models which provide little real benefit to households with the bulk of the savings captured in suppliers profits. Download the document to read our full submission.

In a cross-submission, Rewiring Aotearoa has responded to a range of concerns raised by other submitters in the Energy Competition Task Force's consulation.

We support the role that government procurement can play in benefitting every community across the motu. We agree that simplifying and streamlining the procurement process is important, and reducing rules is a logical starting point. However, this should not undermine key considerations and past efforts in ensuring government spending supports long-term positive outcomes. Government procurement can support us to go for growth by increasing productivity of energy, which is a fundamental economic input

Overall, Rewiring Aotearoa welcomes the objectives of this package of proposals. from the Energy Competition Task Force. We view the package as a critical step in improving energy system outcomes for all consumers. We consider retailers paying consumers fairly as a critical step, and we are mostly satisfied with the Task Force’s approach to this (initiative 2C) and think it will create better outcomes for New Zealand consumers and the energy system as a whole. In contrast, the Task Force’s preferred option around how distributors are required to reward peak input from consumers (initiative 2A) will not in our view meet the Task Force’s (or the Electricity Authority’s) stated objectives.

Focusing on the emissions reductions at home through electrification is a major opportunity (and challenge) for Aotearoa NZ. Homes, farms, and businesses must play a role in driving emissions reductions through electrification and the potential must be recognised and addressed to our 2035 international climate change target.

Rewiring Aotearoa believes we need to make better use of our existing infrastrucuture, see customers as an essential part of a 21st Century energy system and that electrification will lead to much greater energy security and resilience.

Rewiring Aotearoa's submission to the Electricity Authority on its Network Connections Project - Stage One is in and it is good to see the Authority practicing its statutory objective of protecting the interests of consumers.

The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment opened consultation on a discussion document about amendments to the Electricity Safety Regulations to expand the permitted voltage range for electricity supply. Rewiring Aotearoa's submission believes changes are needed to prepare for the rapid adoption of customer energy resources, and electricity distribution companies need to be compelled to allow export limits to be increased.

The Department for Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Ministry for the Environment proposed a topic for a Long Term Insights Briefing entitled 'Everyone plays a part: building New Zealand’s resilience in the context of global trends and our unique natural environment'. Rewiring Aotearoa's submission says energy security and resilience, critical infrastructure failing and commodity/energy price shocks are especially important for Aotearoa NZ’s resilience to future challenges, and farms can also play an important role.

Our ERP2 submission outlines what we think needs to be done to improve the Government's plan to reach our climate targets, electrify the Aotearoa New Zealand economy and build a fairer future energy system for New Zealanders that saves people money and does not leave anyone behind.

There is a relevant saying: ‘Information wants to be free’. While the proposed Consumer and Data Product Bill takes a step in that direction, it does not offer the level of freedom that could be technically accomplished, nor the level of freedom that is likely to unlock the maximum level of innovation.

Rakiura / Stewart Island faces the highest electricity prices in New Zealand. Successive governments have funded report after report and numerous fly-in visits by Ministers have failed to change this situation for the local community. Rewiring Aotearoa believes the opportunity is to harness existing solar and battery technology to deliver significant cost-of-living savings and reduced emissions at scale via electrification on Stewart Island right now. With financed solar and batteries, electricity usage costs for residents could be halved without delay. Rewiring Aotearoa has been engaging with the local community, who have been sending us their power bills. On Saturday 27th April some of the Rewiring team visited Stewart Island (including Mike Rewi who has strong whakapapa to Stewart Island). What we are hearing from this community is many locals fear the proposals and the likely “preferred option” will be focused on replacing current diesel generators, not on reducing the cost of energy for consumers. Our proposal outlines Rewiring Aotearoa’s pitch for an alternative approach to develop a community-led energy solution for the Island.

Overall, we encourage the Commission to think beyond competition merely as a driver for innovation, to consider the outcomes from innovation for the long term benefit for New Zealanders. Rewiring Aotearoa believes one such outcome from market innovation is supporting the electrification opportunity for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Commission has the opportunity to play an active role in driving this not just through the energy market, but also through the personal banking market. It is important that these functions are not seen in isolation, but as a system, to better realise the Commission's role in delivering on NZ’s emissions reduction plan, and 2050 Nationally Determined Contribution.

18 March 2024: New Zealand is one of the first places in the world where electric appliances and vehicles are now more affordable than their fossil fuel equivalents. A new report has shown that, on average, homes currently using gas appliances and petrol vehicles could save thousands every year if they went electric and got their electricity from a combination of rooftop solar, home battery and New Zealand’s already highly renewable grid.

In this future, consumer infrastructure needs to compete on a level playing field with traditional infrastructure – if a $10,000 battery on a consumer’s premises can provide the same service as a $20,000 supply-side asset (a network or generation investment), the consumer’s asset should be selected for the service. However, today there is a systemic bias towards traditional infrastructure largely because it is seen as significantly more ‘dependable’. There are a variety of historical reasons for this. Our primary context to this submission is that many of the assumptions and rationale for this bias are quickly falling away, and DPP4 provides a significant opportunity for the Commerce Commission (the Commission) to reset the assumptions and correct some of this bias.

The EA has the ability to take a leadership role in the energy transition on behalf of electricity consumers. Far more than the Commerce Commission’s oversight of EDBs investment plans, the EA’s network pricing workplan gives consumers agency in the development of the electricity system. When consumer agency is stifled, they will likely have significantly worse financial outcomes on their bills. Much of the necessary changes have been demonstrated already locally or overseas, and the remaining question is not if the changes are possible but if we as a nation will have the courage to implement them on the timeline required to drive better energy transition outcomes for consumers.

It's ANZAC Day and we're showcasing the good kind of arms race as CATL one-ups BYD with its speedy new battery charging technology, big new storage systems take off in Aus, and prices continue to drop; why workplace EV charging is a good option for businesses and the grid; solar becomes transportable with an Austrian company's fold out container solution; an indepth look at Christchurch Airport's new electric firetruck; and solar enthusiasts take it a bit too far.

Plenty of electric easter treats this week, with more electric buses heading to Dunedin and Wellington (and some more positive regional competition); a major new study shows EVs are more reliable than internal combustion cars; the Tesla Cybertruck stops in for a visit at Forest Lodge Orchard; an enterprising Aussie tests a solar solution to charge his electric ute, and all-electric housing developments coming up with new business models and offering greater resilience to storms.

How entrepreneurs like Becks Smith are stepping up to solve problems and install solar and storage on farms; new research into EVs and emissions shows it makes sense for New Zealand to keep electrifying transport (and, perhaps a bigger factor when it comes to purchasing decisions, going electric is also a clear win on the economics); electron-based news from Kia, Pebble, Kiwirail and Fulton Hogan; and can we pull off another 'Malthusian Swerve' as we rapidly use up the Earth's resources?

An array of solar news this week as the country's biggest solar farm turns a sod, Lion and the Trusts Arena put their rooftops to work, some surprising front-runners in terms of solar panel imports from China, how solar and batteries are helping fast charging stations in the UK and Springs Junction deal with constraints on the grid, the Aptera solar-assisted car makes a successful road trip, and how technology changed telecommunications - and how it's about to change energy.

Beauden Barrett's star power is put to use to get more New Zealanders into solar power; it's election season in Aus and it's a 'battle of the band aids' in comparison to incentivising more electric homes and cars; in Tairāwhiti, a major project is underway to install solar on 21 marae; how the story of New Zealand electricity pioneer Lloyd Mandeno illustrates what we can do if we get smart with our electricity use; and a global series on energy focuses on the taonga of Contact Energy's geothermal resources.

More exciting news about big batteries with free wheels (aka electric vehicles) from Australia; BYD's breakthrough sees EVs charging up in about the same time as it takes to fill a petrol car; boat charging comes to Queenstown; New Zealand's solar record (and the world's insatiable desire to run on the sun); and Bluecurrent and Meridian partner up to reward customers who hand over control of their hot water.

We're raising the roof on 'solar appreciation day' as Alpine Energy grows connections by 25% in a year and the country as a whole is close behind; a new paper in Nature shows that rooftop solar, long seen as a niche solution, could be the best way to reduce fossil fuel reliance; New Zealand is singled out as an early adopter of much more efficient industrial heat pumps; Toyota finally steps up its electric game with an upgrades to its existing BEV and two new models; and an optimistic take on the world's response to climate change.

Transpower tries to give New Zealanders a lightbulb moment with its explainer campaign (and a documentary series goes back to the start); celebrity chef Tom Shepherd cooks up some big cost savings with a more efficient commercial kitchen; Mike Taylor from Pie Funds lays out an electric argument that would help fix our balance of trade; Vessev gets some competition in Auckland with the arrival of the Candela P-12 electric hydrofoiling ferry (which Meridian has ordered for Manapouri); and a review of Australia's fastest home EV charger and its bi-directional-enabled capability.

As the focus remains on rising electricity costs in New Zealand, solar and storage continues to drop in price and is set to become the cheapest source of energy around the world in the next few years; an Auckland man's quest to create the world's first electric helicopter; the efficiency of electric flight and the pitfalls of predictions; an electric road in Sweden that could wirelessly charge EVs; solid state batteries take to the streets and look set to increase range; and why going electric was better than offsetting because it led to actual emissions reductions for WoolWorks and Sawmill.

It's a two-way street this week as energy minister makes positive noises about 'big batteries on wheels' playing a role in the energy system (and Zaptec smart chargers aim very high with a new campaign), Fed-Ex rolls out a few more electric delivery vans and wonders why everyone else isn't doing it, the story behind New Zealand's first electric coffee roastery in Queenstown, Christchurch Airport also claims a first with an electric firetruck, and Nat Bullard shows what's going on with the climate and where we're getting our energy from.