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Stuff
Megan Woods has accepted criticism of the money-saving power campaign.
Energy Minister Megan Woods has admitted the tone of the Government’s “Find Money in Weird Places” campaign is a “bit off”, after anti-poverty campaigners called it “profoundly immoral”.
The campaign is a partnership between EECA’s Warmer Kiwi Homes and Consumer NZ, with support from the Electricity Authority.
It highlights how New Zealanders can save up to $500 on their annual power bills with five “free and easy-to-implement” tips.
They are checking the power plan a household is on, switching off appliances at the wall when they are not in use, keeping heat pumps set to less than 21C, doing cold laundry washes and having showers of less than five minutes.
But it fell flat with anti-poverty campaigners. ActionStation campaigns manager Ella Grace Newton said it was “profoundly immoral” during the cost of living crisis as energy companies bring in big profits.
Woods said there were energy efficiency advertising campaigns by EECA most winters and this year’s was strikingly reminiscent of National’s 2009 Energy Spot campaign.
“I do acknowledge though we’ve got the tone a bit off in terms of the campaign launched yesterday and how it conveys those messages -particularly at the moment when households are under a lot of financial pressure,” she said.
RNZ
The Detail looks at our electricity market; why some say the current structure needs to go; and why there are big profits to be made in power (first published in October, 2021).
“We are taking a look at the materials to make sure the tone is right and the information is relevant.”
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said he wasn’t surprised that community groups were frustrated that more wasn’t being done to help consumers struggling with household essentials.
“We share that frustration.
supplied
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy says he isn’t surprised community groups are frustrated.
“We recognised that a useful contribution we could make was to offer tips for people who may not realise there are simple things they can do around the house to save on their power bills.
“We totally get that some people will already be doing some of what we are recommending, but these tips will be new to some people and will help.”
He said the biggest savings could be found when people checked they were on the best power plan to meet their needs, yet only 6% of people switched in the last year.
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