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One of Rewiring's key objectives for 2025 is to grow the number of community electrification groups. And Jay Salzke, who started as ecosystem lead late last year, has been travelling the country to help spark them up.
As he says: “Since coming on board, my focus has been on building the foundation for a thriving network of electric communities nationwide. This includes developing a Community Activation Strategy, creating readily available resources for communities to use and distribute as well as touring Australia’s community groups to bring learnings back to Aotearoa. Most importantly, I have been busy forming relationships with community leaders across the country, and through our conversations, shifted thinking toward developing rapid electrification pathways for their local community. We now have groups formed/forming in Wairarapa, Kāpiti, Paekākāriki, Dunedin, Waiheke, Wānaka, Grey Lynn, Castle Hill, Lower Hutt, Taranaki, Christchurch, Tairāwhiti, Queenstown, Northland, Marlborough, Tasman and Hawke’s Bay.”
The momentum so far is really exciting and just as we are trying to build a more decentralised energy system, we are also building a decentralised community movement where every region takes a slightly different approach based on the needs of the community.
"Whether it’s Kāpiti building capability in residents to understand their energy bills and plan their electric transition, Wairarapa’s successful two-day conference and expo, or Wānaka’s regular information stalls in the community, we’re seeing groups move faster than the ones that precede them."
With the backing of Rewiring Aotearoa, electric communities are putting wins on the board too: Electrify Grey Lynn has secured council funding, Waiheke has developed a comprehensive work plan and working groups (including a bulk buy plan!) and Queenstown has planned a three-day electrification event with international speakers for May.
As the year rolls on, we’ll see more pilot programmes and electric conversions thanks to our electric communities.
"We'll also continue to get in front of more regions to catalyse local movements, and invest in channels that help groups learn from and communicate with each other. Electric communities will be instrumental as advocates for the necessary policy and regulatory changes we’re working toward, too. Local action is crucial to Rewiring’s mission."
"My message is to not wait it out – instead, grab the opportunity to get ahead. In the long term, unless we hit another Maui, which is unlikely and would take decades to bring online, the era of cheap, abundant gas is over. Business leaders need to start planning now." That's EECA's chief executive Marcos Pelenur writing in the Herald about businesses struggling with rising gas prices and faster than expected declines in gas reserves.
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