Waitara’s Ōwae Marae experienced a 400 percent electricity bill increase, jumping from $400 to as much as $2000 monthly after installing solar energy on its new wharekai, 1News...
When monthly costs surged, trustees brought in local renewable energy experts to evaluate the system, according to 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB coverage.
Manukorihi Pā Trust secretary Roina Graham stated that a transformer of that size typically serves 70 houses.
Waitara’s Ōwae Marae experienced a 400 percent electricity bill increase, jumping from $400 to as much as $2000 monthly after installing solar energy on its new wharekai, 1News reported. Local Democracy Reporting journalist Craig Ashworth first covered the issue, which was highlighted at the He Ahi Kā, He Ao Hou community-focused conference leading into the Aotearoa Energy Summit in New Plymouth.
Transformer Capacity Exceeds Marae Needs
When monthly costs surged, trustees brought in local renewable energy experts to evaluate the system, according to 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB coverage. The assessment revealed an expensive 300-kilovolt-ampere transformer with excessive capacity had been installed on the site.
Manukorihi Pā Trust secretary Roina Graham stated that a transformer of that size typically serves 70 houses. Why would you install that on the marae, attached to the kitchen? Graham asked at the conference, as reported by 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB. I don’t know. I’m still dumbfounded.
Business Rates Apply Despite Dormancy
According to 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB, the marae faced higher fixed lines charges because high peak electricity usage during events like tangihanga caused the utility to classify the property as a business. Ōwae was billed at business-rate lines charges even though the facility sits dormant most days, differing from a commercial operation.
The solar installer, HEL Rimu Electrical, attributed the large transformer specification to the project’s external engineer. Managing director Callum Margetts explained that the capacity was planned to accommodate potential new housing or future buildings on the pā, as reported by 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB.
What’s not explained – and we see this a lot – is the actual line charges that come with having a large transformer like that. I’m talking about your monthly ongoing costs of having the capability to have that energy provided to a site.
Photo: newstalkzb.co.nz
Callum Margetts, HEL Rimu Electrical
Compounding the financial strain, Ōwae operated for three years without a contract to sell surplus power back to the grid, meaning the electricity retailer took excess solar generation without payment, 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB reported. The retail supplier eventually refunded the lost earnings for the taken power, but the business lines charge and the oversized transformer remained.
Additionally, the installation suffered from a design flaw where shading on any single solar panel caused the entire connected array to stop generating power, according to 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB. Graham urged other marae administrators to closely monitor every aspect of planned installations, emphasizing that communities need direct knowledge of how their energy systems operate.
Experts Demand Systemic Energy Reform
Ruka Te Moana of the renewable energy firm Te Piringa Pūngao warned conference attendees that the incident was not an isolated occurrence, 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB reported. Te Moana noted that organizations like Rewiring Aotearoa, Solar Sense, and Tū Mai Ra Energy assist whānau in avoiding such unintended consequences, but argued that wider systemic change is necessary to secure fair electricity charging options for marae.
Photo: rnz.co.nz
We’re educating our whānau to operate in a space that isn’t changing: the space actually needs to change, Te Moana said, according to 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Te Moana added that funding bodies increasingly require feasibility studies for solar projects to prevent the need for costly remedial work. Meanwhile, Ōwae is evaluating mitigation strategies, including utilizing batteries to manage peak power demands or potentially disconnecting from the grid entirely, with lessons from the experience being shared with the new Ngāmotu Marae under construction in New Plymouth, 1News, RNZ, and Newstalk ZB reported.
