The Queenstown Lakes District Council are now one of several regions across the country which have given their support for the ratepayer assistance scheme, part of which will help locals electrify their homes.
Rewiring Aotearoa is one of the groups helping inform and promote the scheme.
Chief executive Mike Casey said it had initially started as a way for pensioners to defer rates until their property was sold. However, over the past 12 to 18 months the group has been working with councils to get electrification loans included as part of the scheme.
This will mean homeowners will have the option of taking out loans with much lower interest rates which will go towards electrifying their homes with upgrades such as solar panels and batteries.
The group is also hoping to extend payment periods for the loans, allowing residents to pay them back over the lifetime of the machines installed, which could be 15 to 20 years.
"By doing lower interest finance over a much longer period of time, we actually put our households in a position where they can save money from day one by doing these upgrades," he said.
Community-led group Electrify Wānaka was founded towards the end of last year to promote the economic and environmental benefits of going electric.
Group secretary Pierre Marasti said his household went fully electric about six years and had not looked back.
It was not just about switching to solar powered batteries but also having hot water cylinders, resistive heaters and electric cars, all of which have shaved power costs for them.
"Our focus is on the cost of living, and we do not think that enough people realise that electrifying everything is the cheapest way forward for everyone in New Zealand," Mr Marasti said.
The group was thrilled to have the assistance scheme on the table as it would enable councils across the country to provide cheaper loans for the community to electrify.
Mr Marasti said this would be particularly beneficial to small communities such as Wānaka, which had limited power lines that were reaching capacity as the town grew.
"That’s going to help us get cheaper electricity while reducing the risks that are caused by the fact that we don’t have so many lines," he said. "It’s going to enable us to be more resilient ... because we’re going to produce more of our energy ourselves."
Rewiring Aotearoa had been working to get other councils on board with Auckland, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Wellington and Hutt City Councils all showing their support for implementing the scheme.
Mr Casey said Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watt had invited local government to progress the scheme to the next stage, which meant getting it ready to go to cabinet.
Once central government approves the scheme, an IT system will be created to help homeowners through the electrification process with their local council.
This will mean having a site for residents to log on to and select the upgrades they are wanting to complete, such as adding solar panels.
They will then be recommended local installers and suppliers to select from, which would then get paid for the work through the ratepayer assistance scheme.
