Free ‘energy coaching’ service helping Hawke’s Bay households save on power

Larissa Lucas-Huata, Tania Huata-Kupa, Jessica Kupa and Daisy Hapuku Tenahu are helping Hawke's Bay households save on power as providers of the EnergyMate programme. Photo / Supplied

An “energy coaching” service that helped hundreds of households struggling with power bills is growing so it can reach more people in Hawke’s Bay ahead of winter.

EnergyMate is a free service run by the Electricity Retailers Association of New Zealand (ERANZ) that aims to help whānau who are struggling to pay their power bills by offering in-home coaching and community hui.

Unison announced it was working with ERANZ to launch the service to its Taupō and Hawke’s Bay customers.

Post Treaty Settlement entity Ngāti Pāhauwera Development Trust is the local provider of EnergyMate for Napier and Hastings with six people, trained as both EnergyMate coaches and qualified financial mentors with FinCap, offering the service.

Tania Huata-Kupa, the co-ordinator for the Hawke’s Bay EnergyMate coaches, said they found clients felt empowered, had a better understanding of how they used their power and how to implement saving tips.

“We can also assist whānau through our networks, examples being Te Whatu Ora Healthy homes and our local curtain bank [in] Hawke’s Bay, to ensure that whānau are living within the healthy home standards,” Huata-Kupa said.

Daisy Hapuku Tenahu, an EnergyMate coach and financial mentor based in Hawke’s Bay, said the service started in the region in December.

Referrals for the service are possible through the EnergyMate website.

“Normally, you need to have a Community Service Card or Super Gold Card, but we take it case by case, and they also need to have at least two existing power bills,” Hapuku Tenahu said.

She said they had worked with about 30 households in Hawke’s Bay so far, and the service was continuing to pick up in the region.

“I go into the home of the whānau, ask them a few questions so I have an understanding of their energy usage, and I make sure that their home is within the healthy home standards,” she said.

“It is more than just giving them tips, it is more like making sure they understand their usage, making sure they understand how to read their power bill as well,” Hapuku Tenahu said.

She said she breaks down the power bill for clients before including them on a call to their power provider where she asks questions to make sure they are on a power plan suited to their needs, and she occasionally negotiates.

She said she had one client who halved their power usage after following the advice.

Another client was a senior citizen living alone in a home that was lacking insulation.

“He was already quite frugal, turning switches off at the wall and following energy tips, so I had to look at other ways to keep his home warm,” Hapuku Tenahu said.

She is now working to get him an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority grant to cover most of the cost to get the client heating and insulation. She also delivered him new curtains from the curtain bank.

A tip she has for people looking to save on power is to install an app that shows your daily and hourly power usage, if your provider has one, and use it to measure how much it costs to have a shower or use the dryer.

“I recommend turning off all your switches in your home as long as no one is medically dependent.”

“Switch it off and swap it out, remember to switch all light switches off when not in use and swap your bulbs out for LED bulbs.”