Report, Rewiring Aotearoa,
Rewiring Aotearoa's new Electrifying Southland report puts local numbers on it: $7,700 a year off the average household's energy bills, or $3,800 a year after paying for the gear, and 1,500 new local jobs.
Report, Rewiring Aotearoa,
The regional report is broken down by council area. Invercargill households alone could save $170 million a year; Southland District $93 million; Gore $46 million.
Our report, Electrify Southland,
Launched at Waimumu Field Days after the October 2025 storms. A dairy farm with 50 kW of solar and a 75 kWh battery comes out around $220,000 ahead over 20 years in the base case, with no grants assumed.
Report, Rewiring Aotearoa,
Rewiring Aotearoa and the National Iwi Chairs Forum set out what electrifying marae could mean for running costs, resilience and whānau.
News, Rewiring Aotearoa,
Every litre of liquid fuel we use arrives by ship. Electrifying homes, farms and vehicles swaps imported fuel for energy made here.
Report, Rewiring Aotearoa,
The national research behind the regional reports. An all-electric home is about $3,000 a year better off after upfront costs and interest.
Join us in transforming our region into a haven of electrification, prosperity and empowered community.
On-farm solar report: why solar and batteries beat diesel generators on Southland farms.
Read the report Download the PDF
At Electrify Southland, we believe in uniting our community to drive the transition to clean energy. Together, we can electrify our homes and businesses for a healthier, more sustainable future.
We want Southland to lead on clean, affordable electrification, working together so every home, farm and business shares the gains.
Electrifying homes, farms, businesses and transport for a cleaner, more prosperous and more energy-resilient Southland.
Our Powering Forwards report, launched at Waimumu Field Days in February 2026, sets out the economics of solar and battery systems for different Southland farm types. It compares them with diesel generators, the resilience option many farms have been weighing up since the October 2025 Southland windstorm.
About $220,000 ahead of diesel over 20 years on a typical dairy farm, base case, no grantsSwitch to electric solutions with an attractive return and better business continuity. Our guide covers EECA co-funding, Great South support, green business loans and the practical first steps for Southland firms.
Transform your living space with affordable electrification that lowers your bills and your carbon footprint: heat pumps, hot water heat pumps, induction, EVs, solar and batteries.
$7,700 a year off the average Southland home's energy billsSouthland households spend about $550,000 a day on fossil fuels, most of it imported petrol, diesel and LPG. Rewiring Aotearoa's October 2026 report finds that electrifying homes and vehicles, with solar and batteries on most roofs, would cut household energy bills across the region by $310 million a year.
Region-wide savings assume electric appliances and vehicles in all homes plus rooftop solar and batteries on 80% of homes. Source: Rewiring Aotearoa, Electrifying Southland, v1.0, 15 October 2026.
The regional report is also broken down by council area.
You don't have to do it all at once. Southland savings for each swap, from the regional report.
Community gatherings to learn, share and push electrification forward in Southland.
An interactive workshop on the latest electrification technology and how to use it at home: heat pumps, hot water, solar, batteries and EVs. Meet local experts and neighbours who have already made the switch, and work through practical options for your own place.
Register your interest
Talk through the latest thinking and action around the region. Network, present your own initiatives, and get inspired to do more. Open to anyone in Southland working on, or curious about, going electric.
Register your interestJoin our Facebook community group, or fill in the form to get email newsletters, event notices, or to volunteer and help grow this movement.
General discussion and feedback welcome.
Get on the discussion group list, or just sign up for newsletter updates.
A simple step-by-step guide for Southland homeowners: list your appliances, work out daily kWh, cut demand first, then size solar and batteries to what is left.
Where Southland businesses can get help to electrify: EECA co-funding, Great South, green business loans, and the practical first steps.
Where Southlanders can find reliable, official information on electric vehicles: costs, charging, road user charges, and where to charge around Invercargill, Gore and Te Anau.
About $7,700 a year on energy bills for an average Southland home that switches from LPG heating and cooking and two petrol cars to electric appliances, two EVs, and a 9 kW solar and 10 kWh battery system, at 2026 prices. After paying for the equipment on a 5.5% loan it is still about $3,800 a year better off, or $57,000 over 15 years. Source: Rewiring Aotearoa, Electrifying Southland, October 2026.
Southland households could cut their combined energy bills by $310 million a year, about $850,000 a day, if homes electrify and 80% add solar and batteries. Between 2026 and 2040 that is $2 billion in bill savings, or $1.3 billion net of upfront costs.
Yes. Southland gets less sun than the north, and our Powering Forwards farm modelling uses a 13% solar capacity factor against about 15% nationally. Even so, Rewiring's Southland report finds solar pays back well for local homes, because financed solar works out at about 12c/kWh against roughly 26c/kWh from the grid.
Usually, yes. Our Powering Forwards report found a dairy farm with 50 kW of solar and a 75 kWh battery comes out about $220,000 ahead of a diesel generator over 20 years in the base case, with no grants. Solar and battery won on net present value in nine of ten scenarios. Read the farm report.
Start with whatever is due for replacement. When a gas heater, hot water cylinder, cooktop or car reaches the end of its life, replace it with the electric version. In Southland the biggest single household saving is usually swapping an LPG heater for a heat pump. Our home electrification guide shows how to list your loads and cut demand before sizing solar.
Most big New Zealand banks offer green home loan top-ups at lower rates for heat pumps, solar, batteries and EVs, and green business loans for firms. Rewiring Aotearoa is also pushing councils to offer low-interest electrification loans repaid through rates. Ask your bank, and ask your council whether it will join.
A volunteer community group convened by Invercargill energy engineer Nathan Surendran, and the Southland group in Rewiring Aotearoa's Electric Communities network. We share local numbers and honest advice, publish local research such as the Powering Forwards farm report, and work with councils, lines companies and community groups to make electrification easier here.
