Toast Announces Expansion As Thousands Of Kiwi Families Face Energy Hardship

NZ’s only not-for-profit electricity retailer says tick-box compliance alone won’t keep families warm this winter.

As another bitter winter descends on Aotearoa, thousands of New Zealand families are entering the season in homes they can’t afford to heat. Against this backdrop, social enterprise Toast Electric has announced its expansion into Horowhenua and Wairarapa. It currently serves 1100 homes - having grown its Wellington customer base by more than half over the past year - and now supporting over 250 families through its Energy Wellbeing programme.

Toast was launched in 2022 by Sustainability Trust with a bold mission: to eliminate energy hardship by reimagining how power is delivered. Through a simple but disruptive model, every four paying households or small businesses who switch to Toast help fund support for one household living in energy hardship.

“Too many New Zealanders are being failed by a system that confuses compliance with care,” comments Phil Squire, Head of Toast and a national expert in healthy homes assessments (with over 20 years’ experience leading regional healthy housing programmes). “This winter, we’re seeing families who are in homes that are technically “compliant” with the rental Healthy Homes Standards but still living in freezing conditions, making impossible trade-offs between heating and food. Compliance doesn’t guarantee wellbeing and it’s time we stopped pretending it does,” he adds.

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Toast’s Energy Wellbeing programme provides a unique blend of support: affordable electricity pricing (including a 30% discount during winter), reconnection for families who have been cut off and personalised in-home energy advice delivered by trained assessors. “It’s not just a bill reduction - it’s a full-circle model that focuses on what truly makes a home healthy and liveable,” comments Squire. Households are onboarded to Toast via a network of financial mentors and social service agencies who also provide financial advice and wrap-around support before referral to Toast.

And the need is growing. According to Consumer NZ and University of Otago estimates, more than 360,000 households across New Zealand are in energy hardship. Over 140,000 families took out loans last year just to pay their power bills and more than 40,000 homes are at risk of disconnection each year. “These are not edge cases - they are the reality for hundreds of thousands of families, many of them renting in poor-quality housing stock that remains difficult or outright unaffordable to heat,” comments Squire.

While the government’s Healthy Homes Standards were intended to lift the floor for rental housing quality, Squire says that without robust enforcement and real-world measurement, too many families are falling through the cracks. He adds: “The current system allows landlords to self-certify compliance and take advantage of multiple exemptions, meaning many rental homes may appear up to standard on paper but remain cold, damp and unhealthy in practice.”

Toast is now calling for the introduction of a national Home Energy Warrant of Fitness (WOF) - a system already in place in parts of Europe and the UK. Much like the existing vehicle WOF model, it would require independent, licensed assessors to verify whether a home is truly safe, warm and energy-efficient. Toast argues that this is long overdue.

“We wouldn’t let someone certify their own car as roadworthy…so why are we doing that with the places people sleep, raise their children and try to stay healthy?” he asks.

The team behind Toast believes that practical, community-based solutions like theirs can help fix what legislation alone cannot. Their wraparound model, powered entirely by reinvested revenue, ensures that families aren’t just told to ‘use less power’ but are supported to live in homes that are healthier and cheaper to run.

The stories behind the numbers speak for themselves. One Wellington man, who had lived without electricity for two years, was finally reconnected through Toast’s programme and told assessors he could now take a hot shower without using a torch - something many take for granted. Others describe the relief of turning on the heater without fear of a bill they simply can’t pay. This is what energy wellbeing looks like in action.

University of Otago research has confirmed what the Toast team already knows: reducing bill stress leads to better mental health, more stable family dynamics and improved physical wellbeing. The ripple effect is significant - not just for individual households but for the communities they live in.

Dr Kimberley O’Sullivan, leading the University of Otago research exploring Toast Electric’s Energy Wellbeing programme, says “We’ve heard from Toast Electric’s referral partners, Energy Wellbeing Customers and Regular Customers who all report…improved wellbeing and describe how relieving electricity bill stress enables them to feel more comfortable and relaxed at home and better connect with their family, friends and community. Regular customers also feel good about being able to help others in need while paying their electricity bills they would already be paying. Toast Electric’s not-for-profit model is working within the market framework to deliver essential electricity and improve wellbeing.”

With plans to double customer numbers again over the next year, expand into Horowhenua and Wairarapa, and grow its referral network of local agencies, Toast is proving that ethical, equitable electricity retailing is not only possible - it’s essential.

“Energy should be a right, not a luxury,” says Squire. “And until we make that true for every family in Aotearoa, we’re not done.”

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