A lot of electricity industry conversation around flexibility focuses on how it could help to avoid some of the billions of dollars in investment in the system in the coming decades and that making things easier for market participants is key to this progress.
But it’s not always recognised that these savings will only be made if households and businesses make flexible choices – and so there needs to be equal focus on meeting the needs and interests of people.
This was a key finding of our expert assessment of Flexibility Plan progress earlier in 2024.
It’s great to see some progress since then, such as more offers in market which encourage flexible choices, but there’s more to do to make things practically easier for people.
Practically easier means things like having platforms, products - and crucially, more decision-making tools - so people can easily, routinely and confidently make flexible choices. Knowledge is power after all.
Consider Rewiring Aotearoa’s Electric Homes report, which highlights homes currently using gas or LPG appliances and petrol vehicles could save over $1,000 per year if they electrify their appliances and vehicles, and get their power from a combination of rooftop solar, home battery, and the existing electricity grid. Read more about the Electric Homes report.
Yet, EECA’s latest Consumer Energy Monitor shows only a slim majority of New Zealanders realise electricity is our lowest-carbon energy source and only about half feel confident in understanding and managing their energy use at home. See the latest Consumer Energy Monitor.
The mission of the FlexForum is to make it easy for people to get value from their flexibility, so we need to keep progressing things from the market point of view and the human point of view.
This means giving people the ability to get personalised information and advice either directly or from advisers. Particularly, people need data inputs (consumption and pricing data) for their flexibility business cases and advisers need to be able to advise.
Monetising the value of flexibility and making it easy and routine for people to be rewarded for being flexible.
FlexForum will continue to champion a focus on people and doing what we can to make flexibility relevant to ‘real’ households and businesses. Ultimately, the greatest tangible and positive impact will be achieved by making it easy and routine for people to make decisions in their own context.
*We’re really liking this new calculator by EECA for homeowners to work out how much they could save by switching to energy efficient appliances like heat pumps, hot water heat pumps, induction cooktops, and adopting EVs and solar panels. Give it a go.
Get in touch: info@flexforum.nz
