With the rest of the world, we’re on a mission to reduce the impacts of climate change. We now need to electrify Aotearoa. This means we need to power more things — like our homes, cars and businesses — with electricity generated from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.
While we transition to a country that uses more electricity, natural gas still has an important role to play to make sure that power is reliable and affordable for consumers. Right now, gas provides continuity of supply as we inch closer to more renewable energy supply, better battery technology and as we tackle major event-related reliability issues.
What's in it for you?
As we start to power more things with electricity, we will get closer to our net-zero goals. But as well as a low-carbon future, households can save money and also reduce their personal emissions too. Replacing gas heaters with heat pumps, purchasing an EV when your car needs an upgrade, and getting rooftop solar are all ways to save on energy bills.
The 'Gen Less' tool makes it simple to see how switching to energy-efficient appliances could help people save on their power bills — and their carbon footprint. Check it out at www.genless.govt.nz.
What are the challenges for lines companies
It's projected that electricity demand could increase by 68% by 2050. This poses a big challenge for lines companies. We need to make sure we have the distribution networks that can deliver this increased electricity demand.
We need to invest in infrastructure so everyone can use more electricity as we decarbonise. Striking the right balance to make sure we are investing in our electricity system, and keeping electricity as affordable as possible for consumers, is critical.
One way that we will be able to keep infrastructure costs down, is by making sure we have the right regulations in place so that lines companies can help to shift electricity load from peak to off peak times. For example, imagine everyone plugging in their EVs at 6pm when they get home. That’s a very high peak to build for – and an expensive one. We need regulation and standards in place so we can work a lot smarter — and smooth out the electricity peaks as demand grow.
Another way that would help keep infrastructure costs down for consumers is allowing lines companies easy access to smart metre data. This would enable lines companies offer flexibility services that could help customers use power in the middle of the night when power could be at a cheaper rate. This would be handy for things like charging EVs, smart heat pumps and heating hot water cylinders.
We have been — and will continue — to advocate for changes like the ones above. We are in a fast-changing world, and we need to make adjustments now so we can deliver more reliable electricity in the future - without a big price tag for consumers.