Whakahiko te ao!

Electrify Everything

Rewiring Aotearoa represents everyday New Zealanders in the energy transition and is working to build an electrified future where every Kiwi saves money on energy bills, reduces their carbon emissions and has the resilience to keep their lights on and homes warm. Let’s make New Zealand more electric!

New Report: Electric Homes

New Zealand is one of the first countries to reach what’s called the ‘electrification tipping point’, where households can save money and also significantly reduce their emissions by electrifying their appliances and vehicles. On average, homes currently using gas appliances and petrol vehicles could save around $1,500 per year at current interest rates and around $4,500 per year with a low-interest loan if they bought electric equivalents and got their electricity from a combination of rooftop solar, home battery and New Zealand’s already highly renewable grid.

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We're all about the win-wins

Aotearoa New Zealand has natural advantages in the energy transition. We can build a future where billions of dollars in fossil fuels no longer need to be imported, instead saving billions every year with New Zealand-generated electricity flowing through electric machines.
This will create more cost effective homes, businesses, farms and industries and lead to significantly lower emissions.

Communities

Rewiring Aotearoa is building electrification knowledge and capability within our whānau, communities and small businesses.

We support community led action in the electrification transition. Ensuring everyone has opportunity to benefit from saving thousands of dollars every year on bills, while lowering emissions and improving resilience.

The future of our communities can be bright as we transition from spending millions on fossil fuels every year to spending that money locally and powering our lives entirely from New Zealand made electricity.

Government

The current policies and regulations surrounding our energy system were built for a fossil fuel world. ‍

‍There is tremendous potential to implement policy that is a win-win-win for the economy, the environment, and our resilience. We work to make sure decarbonisation decisions and policies keep cost of living and consumers at the forefront.

We engage directly with all levels of government, members of parliament, industry and regulatory bodies to advocate and enable action to support community electrification.

Industry

The only way to practically achieve zero emissions is to understand the millions of fossil fuel machines that power our households and businesses.

Rewiring Aotearoa works on world-leading research that delves deeper into decarbonisation decision making to facilitate rapid impact across all sectors.

We help businesses and industry understand how they can help facilitate the energy transition at scale, and we work together to develop world-leading projects.

"If we hope to solve climate change, we need to eliminate the burning of fossil fuels and use our clean green electricity to the maximum."

Sir Stephen Tindall

"New Zealand can lead the world on electrification and create a model for other countries to follow."

Urs Hölzle

"The electrification of our future is already underway – and our belief is that it offers all of us as Kiwis a more prosperous and healthy future."

Carl Vink

Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation

"I chose to support Rewiring Aotearoa because it's a highly strategic intervention in our energy system in New Zealand. It is championing the customer/average Kiwi in a way that no one else is."

Oliver Bruce

"The opportunity being presented by this initiative is of long term benefit for all New Zealanders."

Michael Sidey

"New Zealand has a massive opportunity, a headstart with its hydro, low solar prices and high fossil fuel prices. New Zealand could be setting an example for the world on how to solve climate while boosting its economy. "

Saul Griffith

Author of 'Electrify'

"Electrification represents a critical opportunity for Aotearoa, particularly for our farmers, who will be able to build resilience, grow their competitive advantage, cut costs and generate new income."

Geoff and Finn Ross

Lake Hawea Station

"This is an important and timely report that deserves considerable attention."

Shaun Hendy (MNZM FRSNZ)

Peer review of Electric Homes report

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What's an electric home?

There are still a lot of households in New Zealand that burn fossil fuels for water heating, space heating, driving and cooking. An electric home swaps some or all of those fossil fuel machines for much more efficient electric equivalents and, if possible, adds solar panels to generate their own electricity and batteries to reduce their energy bills to store that electricity for when it’s needed.

New Zealand could lead the world - again

New Zealand has a long history of renewable electricity innovation. The world’s first all electric home with the world’s first practical electric home water heater was designed by engineer Lloyd Mandeno and powered by renewable hydro electricity in the early days of New Zealand’s hydro electricity boom. Around 1888, New Zealand had the southern hemisphere’s first electric public lighting in Reefton, and the world’s first electric gold dredge around 1890. In 1958, New Zealand 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 what is believed to be the world’s first electrified zero fossil fuel fruit orchard, including New Zealand’s first electric tractor imported from the USA. With this rich electrical heritage, a longstanding love of self-sufficiency and a highly renewable electricity grid, New Zealand has a unique opportunity to become one of the world’s most electric economies.

‍Find out more about Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey’s electrification journey here.

This is an image of the all electric house engineered by Lloyd Mandeno (born 1888) and is believed to be the world’s first all electric home, powered by New Zealand’s hydro electricity boom around 100 years ago.

Here's what we need to make that happen.

Make finance accessible for all New Zealanders

Access to finance - either through public or private sources - will be crucial to ensure every New Zealander, no matter their income level, has access to the economic and environmental benefits electrification can provide.

Electrification needs to be a focus for emissions reduction

Electrification of households and businesses is the low-hanging fruit of emissions reduction. We can make progress towards meeting our emissions reductions targets at negative cost through rapid electrification of our domestic economy and reduce our dependence on carbon offsetting.

Fairly reward homes for their contribution to the energy system

Our electricity system should incentivise greater involvement from households and businesses and pay them fairly for their contributions. The market and the rules governing it need to be redesigned accordingly.

About Rewiring Aotearoa

Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent non-partisan non-profit. It is a registered charity working on energy, climate, and electrification research, advocacy, and supporting communities through the energy transition. The team consists of New Zealand energy, policy, and community outreach experts who have demonstrated experience both locally and internationally.

We're in it for you. We’re always fighting for the New Zealanders who use the energy system. Our work gives households and businesses the information and inspiration they need to make decisions that will reduce their costs and their carbon emissions.

Our Purpose

By combining research, communication and demonstration, Rewiring Aotearoa will accelerate climate action and transform the energy system to benefit all New Zealanders.

Our Team

Rewiring Aotearoa is a group of New Zealand leaders who work within the climate, energy, policy, data and storytelling space. We believe the cross section of these skills will help us rapidly electrify Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our Funding

Rewiring Aotearoa’s New Zealand-based team is primarily funded by a group of New Zealand-based philanthropists, with a small chunk of funding generated through projects and donations from supporters.

Support us

Your donations help our team keep the momentum of rapidly electrifying Aotearoa New Zealand within our key focus areas of community, government and industry.

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