Energy Well-being
Working together to build a resilient, affordable, and locally powered energy future for Porirua
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Porirua Energy Well-being Kaupapa Group
The Porirua Energy Well-being Kaupapa Group brings providers, iwi, and community together to tackle barriers to energy access and design practical, locally grounded solutions. This is a space for collaboration focused on strengthening the energy system so whānau in Porirua can thrive.
If you care about improving access to affordable, reliable energy and want to be part of building a more sustainable and resilient Porirua, we’d love you to join us!
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‘Te Kore, Te po, Te Ao Marama Energy Hardship: The challenges and the way forward
Over 200 people die and around 40,000 people go to hospital every year due to health complications caused by energy hardship. This costs us billions of dollars every year and many of the diseases caused by energy hardship have lifelong implications. This report gives us the recipe for making a meaningful dent in those appalling and utterly unacceptable statistics.
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Save on your energy bills
Get more out of your home energy use with practical tips to help keep your home warm, healthy and affordable, and ensure you can find support if you need it.
Key contributors to energy hardship
Adapted from Te Kore, Te Pō, Te Ao Marama, March 2023
Why Energy Well-being Matters for Porirua
Energy is essential to everyday life. It keeps our homes warm, our lights on, and our whānau connected. But for many in Porirua, access to affordable, reliable energy is not guaranteed.
There are multiple contributors to energy hardship. Rising power costs mean some whānau are forced to make difficult choices, especially during winter. Some are choosing between heating, kai, and other essentials. At the same time, housing quality, knowledge, and our energy systems can leave communities exposed to outages, price fluctuations, and decisions made far from our place.
Through the Porirua Climate Assembly, our community identified the need to strengthen local resilience, reduce emissions, and invest in infrastructure that supports communities to adapt and thrive. Energy sits at the centre of this, both as a challenge and an opportunity.
In response, the Porirua Community Leaders’ Forum has identified renewable energy as a priority area for collective action. This reflects a shared recognition that improving how we access, generate, and use energy can directly support whānau wellbeing and long-term resilience.
Energy security is about ensuring whānau can access energy that is:
Affordable so homes can be warm and healthy
Reliable so communities are supported during disruptions
Sustainable so we protect the future for our tamariki and mokopuna
Renewable energy is a key pathway to achieving this, enabling locally generated, community-led solutions that reduce costs, lower emissions, and strengthen resilience.
This kaupapa is about whānau wellbeing, equity, and a more resilient Porirua, now and for generations to come.
The Community Energy Resilience Continuum shows how energy resilience spans immediate relief, to building whānau and community capacity, and long-term system change. Our work begins with focusing on community energy resilience.
Data That Tells a Story
Electricity accounts for the majority (57%) of the residential consumption of energy sources in New Zealand; and this proportion increases significantly when petrol used for transport is excluded. Most households require electricity as their main energy source, and this will become increasingly so as New Zealand transitions to low-emissions technologies (for example electrifying cooking, water heating and space heating). While one-third of New Zealand’s demand for electricity comes from households, some individuals, households and whānau do not have access to power, or reliable power.
Between 2010 and 2019, those households with the lowest 10% of income have had almost no change in the proportion of income spent on electricity, while this has slightly decreased for most other income groups.
Electricity expenditure as a percentage of total income, 2010 and 2019
Adapted from: O’Sullivan, K., Chen, Z., Fyfe, C., & Pierse, N. (November 13, 2024). Energy poverty: The lowest-income households pay more in Aotearoa. Public Health Expert Briefing.
Electricity expenditure as a percentage of total income
Adapted from: O’Sullivan, K., Chen, Z., Fyfe, C., & Pierse, N. (November 13, 2024). Energy poverty: The lowest-income households pay more in Aotearoa. Public Health Expert Briefing.
As a proportion of the total household income, the poorest households are spending over 7.5% of their income on electricity. The wealthiest 10% spend only 1.3%.
We are supporting community energy well-being by focusing on energy in our homes. By bringing together experts and champions working on this kaupapa, we are aligning with recommendations from the Porirua Climate Change Assembly: Energy security in Porirua must be prioritised, based on both sustainability and fairness. Rising energy costs and reliance on a centralised grid puts low-income communities at risk of energy hardship. Renewable energy solutions (solar and wind) offer a pathway to resilience, but access must be equitable so that all residents, including renters and social housing tenants, can benefit.
What We Are Doing
Our Approach: Kaupapa Groups through the Porirua Community Leaders’ Forum
Porirua Community Leaders’ Forum (PCLF) exists to foster relationships, strengthen local connections, and create a shared space for community-led action and learning. It brings together Porirua’s diverse leaders across iwi, community, Pacific, migrant, business, education, and social sectors to identify shared priorities and coordinate collective impact for our city.
As part of this model, kaupapa groups are established to move ideas into tangible action. Each group focuses on a specific area of community priority such as kai, housing etc.
The Porirua Energy Well-being Kaupapa Group is a collective space to shape practical solutions for our whānau.
Read more about the Porirua Community Leaders’ Forum in the PCLF Operating Model .
Porirua moves forward because people like you step in. We need skills, time, and resources to keep the momentum going.
How Can You Help
Volunteers for workshops
Help facilitate conversations and keep sessions running smoothly.
Catering and kai
Sponsor food and drink for our next gathering.
Communications support
Design, write, or help spread the word about what we are doing.