Energy is the fundamental concept—it means the capacity to do work or make things happen—and in New Zealand we see it in many forms, from the stored water behind hydro dams on the Waikato River, to geothermal heat in places like Taupō, to the chemical energy in petrol or batteries.

Electricity is just one form of energy and the main way we move it around: when water flows through turbines at hydro stations such as Huntly Power Station or Karapiro Dam, that stored energy is converted into electricity and sent through the grid to homes and businesses.

When you switch on a light, the electricity isn’t what you see—the glow is the energy being transformed into light (and some heat) inside the bulb or LED. In simple terms, energy is the “capacity,” while electricity is one of the most useful ways we convert and deliver that capacity into the everyday services we rely on.

In any modern society—including New Zealand—electricity sits at the heart of the entire energy system because it is the most efficient, flexible and scalable way to deliver energy where and when it’s needed. It powers hospitals, schools, communications, water systems, industry and increasingly transport, linking everything from generation through to daily life via the national grid operated by Transpower.

As we electrify more of the economy—shifting from fossil fuels to renewable sources like hydro, wind and geothermal—electricity becomes even more central to economic productivity, public wellbeing and environmental performance.

That’s why it must be reliable (available whenever people need it), affordable (so households and businesses can participate fully in society), and sustainable (so it supports long-term environmental and economic stability).  Achieving all three of these requirement together is difficult and requires some trade-offs. The intersection of them is what Scott Tinker calls the “radical middle”.

Without a strong, resilient electricity system, the essential services and connections that define a modern society simply cannot function effectively.

Along with housing and food, electricity affordability is increasingly becoming an issue for many households, communities, businesses. Whanau are making difficult trade-offs between heating and lighting their homes and food, rent and transport costs. Businesses are downsizing, offshoring or closing completely.

Data from MBIE shows that real (after inflation) residential electricity costs have increased by 230% over the past 50 years. Before the Iran conflict, this was more than 3 times the rate of inflation in 91 grade petrol costs. In a country which is both energy (and electricity) rich and able to produce more than 85% of its electricity sustainably this seems deeply paradoxical and problematic.

Wellbeing Waikato wants to explore more deeply how electricity affordability affects wellbeing for people in the Waikato. As with our other work, we will explore this mainly from the perspective of the household/whanau, but we also want to better understand how electricity affordability affects businesses.