Fifteen community projects delivering invaluable tips, tricks, and resources to reduce energy use and lower power bills have been granted funding in the second round of the Government’s SEEC Programme, Energy and Resources Minister, Megan Woods has announced.

“The Support for Energy Education in Communities Programme is already making a difference to households struggling to pay for their power by funding local advice services to teach people how to heat their homes efficiently, and reduce their electricity bills. It’s incredible how seemingly small changes can lead to meaningful savings and healthier homes.

“This is one of a number of actions to come out of the Electricity Price Review. It suggested we set up a fund to help households in energy hardship make their homes warmer, drier, and healthier. This second SEEC round will reach even more people in need.”

“One project in the King Country from the earlier SEEC Programme funding round is estimated to save each of the 1522 participating households an average of $552 from their annual power bill. That project has now been granted funding in this second round to extend the programme to another 1800 households.

“Many of the projects we’re funding focus on training staff to offer personalised energy assessments for households in need. These assessments, done during home visits, online or at community events, give handy advice on what can be done to improve energy efficiency in the home. Many also provide free energy-saving LED lightbulbs.

“The projects selected in the latest SEEC funding round show a variety of initiatives and will reach a wide range of people – including elderly, Māori, Pasifika, renters and people on a low-income. Many projects are also linking up with other organisations to help connect with harder-to-reach households or to offer an even broader range of support, like making referrals to curtain banks.

“I’m looking forward to seeing these 15 projects in action. There’s fantastic work happening out there in our communities, and the Government’s SEEC Programme is helping build that network of support for households who need it most,” Megan Woods said.

A total of $1.65 million has been committed for the 15 projects in round two.

Across the nine projects in round one, which were given about $1.26 million of government funding, more than 1,500 energy assessments and 37 community events took place, with more than 34,000 energy-saving items handed out. More than 2,000 homes have been visited to date, with more to come as round one initiatives continue to be delivered.

A further $5 million of funding through the SEEC Programme is available over the next two years, until 30 June 2024, with the third funding round expected in mid-2022.

The SEEC Programme was established after a recommendation from the 2019 Electricity Price Review. It is one of the government initiatives underway aimed at reducing energy hardship in our communities.

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