July 20, 2020
Tesla test step towards tackling power gouging
Crippling power bills could be a thing of the past for many King Country whānau if an experiment in power sovereignty comes off.
Unitec’s Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Kaupapa Māori & Indigenous Research Centre is working with Taumarunui’s Te Mangarautawhiri o Pukehou Trust to look at sustainable and clean-energy options that could enable Māori to take control of their own energy supply.
Researcher Rihi Te Nana says the structure of power company ownership in Te Rohe Pōtae means some whānau pay twice as much to the lines company carrying the electricity as they do for the electricity itself.
Emerging technologies could change that.
"Tesla is doing battery-powered energy and so technology is becoming more efficient and smarter. I don't envisage in future we'll just stick to electricity. We might have a number of sources we end up utilising," Ms Te Nana says.
Rihi Te Nana says the project will run until November 2021.
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