Aotearoa is in the middle of a genuine energy security problem. Domestic gas production has roughly halved since 2014, and wholesale electricity prices have been among the highest in the developed world. Household electricity costs were up 11.7% in the year to March 2026.

The Government's main response so far has leaned on fossil fuel fixes, reversing the offshore oil and gas exploration ban and fast-tracking an LNG import terminal, while longer-term fixes like efficiency, electrification and distributed renewables get comparatively less attention.

Warmer Kiwi Homes (insulation and heat pump grants) is one of New Zealand's most effective programmes, historically returning around $4 of benefit for every $1 spent. Even so, funding has been trimmed while energy hardship keeps rising.

New Zealand has no direct rebate for household rooftop solar, and uptake remains low, held back more by regulatory and grid barriers than by economics. Some of these barriers are easing, but no rebate exists yet.

This is a live election issue: Labour's proposed "SolarSaver" package and National's proposed "Home Energy Fund" are both 2026 campaign announcements, not policy yet.

Distributed solar and batteries also matter for resilience, keeping essential power running during outages caused by extreme weather.

Central government controls the settings that matter most here: energy market regulation, national funding programmes, and building/grid rules. Your local MP can push for these in Parliament. They can help by:

• Funding Warmer Kiwi Homes (or its successor) at a level that matches real demand, rather than trimming it while hardship rises.

• Removing remaining regulatory and grid barriers to household and community rooftop solar and batteries.

• Prioritising electrification and energy efficiency, not just new fossil fuel infrastructure, as the long-term answer to energy security.

• Supporting community-scale renewable generation and battery storage, so neighbourhoods have some power resilience during outages and extreme weather.

• Making sure any new solar or home energy subsidy scheme reaches renters and low-income households, not just homeowners who can already access finance.

• Will you commit to funding Warmer Kiwi Homes (or its replacement) at a level that matches real demand?

• Do you support removing regulatory barriers to household and community rooftop solar and batteries?

• What's your policy on rooftop solar and home energy subsidies, and how would it actually reach renters and low-income households?

• Do you see gas and LNG imports, or electrification and efficiency, as the primary route to energy security, and why?

• How will you support community-scale renewable energy and battery storage so communities have power resilience during outages?

Where to ask these questions?

Ask these questions and more, at electorate meet-the-candidates events, party policy launches and debates, or send them directly to candidates and parties via email or social media.