Energy Hardship Update - March 2021

Nau mai, haere mai ki Energy Hardship Update. This is our first Energy Hardship Update and it’s great to have you on board. We envision this e-news will provide regular snapshots of work underway to help alleviate energy hardship in New Zealand. You’ll see updates on ongoing work, announcements and other related news. Going forward, we hope this e-news will paint a broad picture of energy hardship work, extending beyond MBIE’s Energy and Resource Markets branch, as well as offer opportunities for you to be involved.

Addressing energy hardship

The 2019 Electricity Price Review (EPR) was an independent review commissioned by the Minister of Energy and Resources. One of the EPR’s key findings was that energy hardship is a pressing problem, with children over-represented in many of the affected households.

The EPR made eight recommendations to address energy hardship. However it also recognised the causes are complex and extend beyond the electricity sector, and the solutions require joint action. In response to the EPR, the government agreed to a work programme that progresses the majority of the energy hardship recommendations.

In August last year, the government announced a $17 million four-year package for initiatives to reduce energy hardship and improve advocacy for residential and small business consumers. Progress was impacted by COVID-19, but all projects to deliver on the government’s response are now back on track and we are pleased to share our updates with you.

Establishing an Energy Hardship Expert Panel and Reference Group

The EPR recognised there are many drivers of energy hardship and the importance of coordination and communication. It therefore recommended establishing a cross-sector energy hardship group to “bring together decision-makers from key government agencies, community organisations, consumer advocates, industry participants and regulators to develop and coordinate cohesive, cost-effective energy hardship initiatives” and to ensure that such initiatives are “well-considered, carefully coordinated and properly implemented.”

Government has responded to this recommendation by establishing an Energy Hardship Expert Panel. The Panel will recommend policy priorities and actions to alleviate energy hardship in New Zealand.

We are now working through our appointment process for the Expert Panel, and anticipate interviewing shortlisted candidates in the coming weeks. Following this, Ministers will make their decisions then proceed to Cabinet for approval. We anticipate this will take place before the end of April, noting the timetable is subject to change.

We are also establishing an Energy Hardship Reference Group to provide a forum to share information and encourage coordination across industry, NGOs, iwi and government agencies. We anticipate establishing the Reference Group shortly after the Expert Panel has convened.

We look forward to sharing more information as both the Expert Panel and Reference Group are established and their work programmes are determined.

Inviting Expressions of Interest to participate in our online energy hardship forums

We will be holding a series of online forums in late March and early April to discuss our energy hardship work programme and to engage with those interested in alleviating energy hardship.

We will use these online forums to share information and gather advice and input on what issues and possible solutions stakeholders would like to see explored by the incoming Energy Hardship Expert Panel. We would like to hear from NGOs, iwi, consumer advocates, community groups and support agencies that are working with households and whānau who are struggling to pay their power bills. We would also like to hear from industry organisations, participants, researchers and service providers.

We will continue to engage with iwi and will be inviting iwi specifically to an online hui in April to discuss and better understand energy hardship issues experienced by iwi, hapū and whānau.

Please email energymarkets@mbie.govt.nz by Wednesday 24 March if you are interested in attending one of our upcoming energy hardship forums.

Defining energy hardship

The EPR found one of the issues with addressing energy hardship was that there is no accepted definition for it in New Zealand.

We are working to establish an agreed definition of energy hardship, and associated indicators to assist with measuring and tracking energy hardship over time. The definition will also inform how we evaluate the success of programmes to address energy hardship.

We have been busy developing a proposed conceptual framework and draft definition. We will present our current thinking and plans in a discussion document to be published in late April or early May for public consultation. Once released, you will be able to access the document on the MBIE website and we encourage you to make a submission.

Support for Energy Education in Communities Programme

The Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) Programme is part of a suite of new government initiatives to lift people out of energy hardship. We would like to thank all those who applied for the first round of funding from the Programme’s SEEC Fund, and associated SEEC Equipment and Devices Fund.

Applications for the first funding round closed on 9 February. We had a huge response – receiving 38 applications for funding – and it was pleasing to see a diverse range of initiatives across the applications. We are currently assessing the applications against the specified eligibility criteria and funding focus for the first funding round, and should be in a position to contact applicants about the outcome later this month.

The SEEC Programme has been established to help build a network of energy hardship initiatives in the community and support more people achieve warmer homes and lower energy bills. A total of up to $1.26 million is available across both funds in the first funding round. There will be further opportunities to apply for funding through the SEEC Programme, including a second round towards the middle of this year.

Find out more about the SEEC Programme.

Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund

MBIE is working closely with other agencies and community housing providers to make energy more affordable for residents of Māori and public housing.

A $28 million Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund has been established to trial small-scale renewable energy technologies. The funding for Māori housing projects will be allocated over four years until mid-2024 through an open application process.

The government recently sought Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for possible renewable energy projects on Māori housing. We received a large number of EOIs and a cross-agency panel, including the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, has been set up to evaluate all EOIs against the published criteria. We will contact all applicants by the end of March to advise them on the outcome of their application and next steps.

Visit the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund webpage for more information about the fund including information on future calls for EOIs.

Find out more

See our EPR dashboard that outlines progress towards key work streams to come out of the EPRs recommendations.

Key dates

Email energymarkets@mbie.govt.nz by Wednesday 24 March if you are interested in attending one of our upcoming energy hardship forums.

Contact us

We welcome any thoughts or questions about this area of work, and any interest you might have to be involved. For further information, please contact the Energy Markets Policy team by emailing energymarkets@mbie.govt.nz.

This update is brought to you by the Energy and Resource Markets (ERM) branch, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. ERM is the steward of two regulatory systems, the energy system and the Crown-owned mineral and petroleum system. These systems are connected – we need resources to make energy and we need energy to extract resources.