Electrification Policy Manifesto
What’s the big idea?
We just need stronger political leadership to bring it to life, overcome the barriers and make the benefits available to everyone.
Rewiring Aotearoa's policy manifesto outlines an achievable plan to turn New Zealand into the world’s most electric economy and address our cost of living, climate, productivity and energy security challenges.
Where are we now?
Our energy system is expensive, emissions intensive and extremely vulnerable to global shocks and natural disasters.
What’s the alternative?
This is not some utopian dream. It is an evidence-based plan using technology that is available and cost-effective right now and it has the potential to save households $29 million a day, slash our emissions, improve our energy security & resilience, address our balance of trade deficit and showcase to the rest of the world what’s possible.
"This manifesto provides a bolder vision for the future. It provides something that Aotearoa NZ could be remembered for. And it will benefit existing and coming generations in many different ways."
Read Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey's wero / challenge to politicians, regulators and officials here.
What do we need?
The five main asks of politicians across all parties are:
Have a compelling electrification vision and strategy to achieve this vision.
Empower New Zealanders to electrify through accessible finance and better information.
Invest in accelerating electrification so New Zealand can reap the full rewards.
Push for fair rewards for customers making energy.
Get rid of unnecessary red tape and modernise the rules.
To the current Government, we ask that you prioritise this electrification roadmap, do all you reasonably can in the next year and a bit, and increase your electrification ambition leading into the next election.
To parties currently in opposition, we ask that you support this Government in their electrification actions for the benefit of all New Zealanders, and increase your electrification ambition leading into the next election.
To the regulators and officials, we ask that you think ahead, be bold and prioritise the customers you are there to represent.
Vested interests will push back on a community-first electric future and many of the required actions to achieve this. Different incumbent players are likely to chip away at different actions. The cumulative impact of dialing down individual actions will mean the vision can’t be achieved, the status quo will be preserved and New Zealanders will pay the price - quite literally.
What are the benefits of this plan?
With a bolder vision, we could:
Save $29 million per day or $11 billion per year by 2040 - and that’s just the households.
Avoid 212 million tonnes of emissions by 2050, which is equivalent to almost three times 2023’s total.
Improve energy security and resilience during dry years and major weather events.
Increase energy independence by reducing the approximately $15 billion we spend each year on 3.1 million tonnes of imported fossil fuels.
Avoid billions of dollars of unnecessary investment in electricity infrastructure, which is set to make up the bulk of customers’ bill increases in the coming years.
What about the costs?
Our current system is what's costing us. We continue to waste billions each year on some of the world's most expensive fossil fuels when we could instead be running more efficient electric machines on locally produced renewable electricity.
The policies laid out in our manifesto - including low-interest electrification loans and, where appropriate, subsidies to speed up adoption - should not be seen as a cost; they are an opportunity to invest, an opportunity to create a more productive economy, and an opportunity to show the world what's possible.
A future with two visions!
Disclaimer: These scenarios are illustrative narratives, not economic models or price forecasts. Figures shown are hypothetical and should not be cited as predictions.
Do the Bare Minimum
CO₂ Emissions Avoided (2040): Minimal impact
Electricity Price (2030): High (much higher than today)
Overall Scenario: Ongoing Challenges, High Costs, Vulnerable
Do it Properly
Annual Household Savings (2040): $29 million per day.
CO₂ Emissions Avoided (2040): Significant impact (105MT)
Electricity Price (2030): Low (at or lower than today)
Overall Scenario: Prosperous, Cleaner, Resilient, Global Leader
Can we actually do this?
We’ve done it before. And we can do it again. Aotearoa NZ can lay claim to a number of visionary policies and ideas, from giving women the right to vote to creating ACC; from building state houses to enforcing a nuclear free policy. What’s less well-known is that we are also renowned as pioneers in the world in renewable electricity.
The Bullendale gold mine near Queenstown was home to the Southern Hemisphere's first hydro station, first transmission line, and what is believed to be the largest electric motor in the world at the time. In 1888, we switched on the southern hemisphere’s first electric public lighting in Reefton, and the world’s first electric gold dredge in 1890. At the turn of the century, in the early days of the hydroelectricity boom, engineer Lloyd Mandeno designed the world’s first all electric home with the world’s first practical electric home water heater (and no chimney!), and in 1958, we built the world’s first wet steam geothermal electricity power station.
There are sparks of this world-leading Kiwi ingenuity again, from community energy projects to smart panels to vehicle charging solutions to electric boats to our all-electric orchard.
Aotearoa NZ is a country where this energy transition should be easier than perhaps anywhere else in the world. We have enviable renewable electricity resources that could be augmented with solar and batteries, and our remote location means we have some of the world’s most expensive fossil fuels. This means embracing electrification offers massive economic and environmental benefits. We believe we can once again be seen as a place of pioneers and lead the world through this energy transition while also ensuring we prosper.
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