Energy Hardship Update - special issue

Welcome to another special issue of the Energy Hardship Update. While we aim to send out an e-newsletter fairly regularly, sometimes we have news that just can’t wait. We hope you find this information useful, and as always, feel free to forward this e-newsletter to anyone who you think might be interested.
 

Webinar registration open – learn more about our proposed definition of energy hardship and wellbeing

To help people better understand what’s being proposed, we’re holding two, 1-hour webinars.

Both are free to join, and anyone is welcome to attend, however the second webinar is intended to provide a platform for iwi, hapū, and Māori groups and individuals to learn about the proposals. We are holding this second session to make sure that iwi and Māori attendees are informed and have their questions answered as part of our commitment to meaningful engagement under Te Tiriti.

The dates for the webinars are:

• 2pm–3pm, Friday 26 November
• 11am–12pm, Wednesday 1 December. This webinar is intended to provide a platform for iwi, hapū, and Māori groups and individuals.

The first half of the webinars will cover what’s being proposed, with the second half allowing for participants to ask questions. 

Please email us at definingenergyhardship@mbie.govt.nz and let us know which webinar you would like to attend. We will provide you with the Zoom details to join in on the day.

We look forward to seeing you online!
 

$1.65 million to boost energy education pilots

Fifteen organisations around the country have been awarded government funding to pilot community-level energy education initiatives. Announced last week, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said the pilots receiving funding from the second round of the Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) Programme are set up to deliver invaluable advice and information to help households in need reduce their energy use and lower power bills.

“Many of the projects we’re funding focus on training staff to offer personalised energy assessments for households in need. These assessments, done during home visits, online or at community events, give handy advice on what can be done to improve energy efficiency in the home,” Minister Woods said. Many of the pilots also provide free items such as LEDs, low-flow shower heads and hygrometers to help keep energy use down.

Minister Woods also commented on the variety of initiatives. For example Agape International Ministries’ ‘Pacific-Power’ project will provide an energy mentoring service to aiga/families in Auckland, Levin and Dunedin, while Ngāti Whare Housing Trust will hold marae-based workshops in Rotorua and Te Urewera, followed up by in-home energy audits and personalised advice.

A further $5 million of funding through the SEEC Programme is available over the next 2 years, with the third funding round expected in mid-2022.

SEEC Programme round 2 – list of projects [PDF 774MB] — MBIE website

SEEC Programme information — MBIE website

Find out more

See the Energy Hardship webpage for more information about our work and progress updates.

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.