Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: School food programme welcomed with questions about scale, vital tourist infrastructure under pressure, and Transmission Gully won’t be tolled. It’s difficult to do anything on a chronically empty stomach, let alone learn. That is the rationale behind a new announcement from the government, to provide students … Read more
OPINION: With several high profile government objectives in the spotlight, a single ministry could drive better outcomes across them all. Robyn Holdaway, senior policy advisor at Vector, makes the case for a Ministry for Energy. When the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment was created in 2012 it replaced not one but four full ministry-level … Read more
A two-tier system of energy use is developing, with those on high incomes much more able to reduce their bills than households on lower incomes. Vector’s Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer Kate Beddoe outlines what the lines company plans to do about that. Energy poverty is hard. It affects nearly 100,000 New Zealand households. Electricity providers, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM’s visit to China finally confirmed, privacy commissioner heaps criticism on Facebook, and police minister indicates support for gun register. PM Jacinda Ardern will be visiting China after all, she announced to reporters yesterday afternoon. The NZ Herald reported her saying the visit, to formally open the new embassy, … Read more
Climate change has already affected how electricity gets delivered to customers, and it’s only going to get more challenging. Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha outlines what the lines company is doing to respond. ‘Australia is melting’, ‘US freezes to death’ and ‘Cat frozen solid thaws to full recovery’…. January’s weather-related news headlines were straight … Read more
Barbecuing is one of New Zealand’s national summer past-time, but what are the nuances in our barbecue culture? Brenda Talacek, Vector’s Group Manager for Gas Trading, lifts the lid. As a nation we’re pretty keen on barbecuing. While places like London have banned them from parks (unless it’s a re-useable charcoal one) Auckland Council provides public ones … Read more
Corporates shouldn’t think of the living wage as an expense, but rather as an investment in their business and people, says Vector’s Chief Risk Officer Kate Beddoe. As New Zealand’s largest energy distributor, Vector puts a lot of money into electricity investments and infrastructure in Auckland. I mean, a lot: we’re talking billions of dollars … Read more
The pros and cons of putting solar panels on the roof of your home are well debated. But what about the empty rooftop spaces on commercial buildings throughout our country? PowerSmart’s Sam Vivian explains why more New Zealand businesses are adding commercial solar systems to their buildings. There are two facts of life in business … Read more
Lithium-ion batteries are magnificent feats of engineering and vital for renewable energy. But if we’re not careful with them, they’ll create enormous environmental problems, writes Vector Senior Sustainability Advisor Juhi Shareef. Have you ever seen huge piles of tyres in New Zealand? I have. There are thousands of them throughout our country, and that’s mostly … Read more
World Energy Day has put a spotlight on New Zealand’s sluggish progress towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Vector’s Beth Johnson explains why the time is right to accelerate. This week, Vector Lights on Auckland Harbour Bridge will celebrate the special occasion of World Energy Day by shining a light on the history of … Read more
Vector’s sustainability manager Karl Check explains why the company is pushing for more urban forests, despite the April storm bringing down large numbers of trees and disrupting supply to thousands of customers. The rapid rise of the ‘as-a-service’ model – software, transport, energy and yes, even anything-as-a-service (XaaS) – has got me thinking about the … Read more
The letter you got saying a cheque was about to turn up wasn’t from a Nigerian prince. Vector’s Beth Johnson explains how the Loss Rental Rebate system works. A month or so ago, if you live in Auckland and you’re the person who pays the power bill, chances are you received an email from Auckland … Read more
The chair of Vector’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Teina Teariki Mana, ponders the state of gender equity in an industry that still lags behind. The energy industry is predominantly male and if you look at the statistics, Vector is no exception – just 3 in 10 of our employees are female. For generations, working in … Read more
When it comes to safety, sometimes looking back on the past can make you glad you’re alive today, writes Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha. All of these things were once considered perfectly normal: not wearing seat belts; public DDT-spraying trucks (to end Polio, of course); giving the kids a booster seat so they could … Read more
Ever considered making and selling electricity from the comfort of your home or business? While that might sound like some dodgy online scam, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think, writes Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha. You’ve read the news stories already: technology is evolving and everyone’s an innovator these days and the … Read more
One of the best reasons for lighting the Auckland Harbour Bridge is that it makes diversity impossible to ignore, writes Vector’s Beth Johnson. These days, the words ‘kia ora’ are everywhere: it’s part of our everyday chat throughout New Zealand. It’s how we say hello. In the not-too-distant past greeting customers with a “kia ora” … Read more
The government is digging deep into the price of electricity in New Zealand, with a review of the entire energy sector. What will the review look at, why should there even be one, and does it mean you might pay less for power? * Where did the idea for a review come from? The price … Read more
On the first ever International Day of Light, Prof David Hutchinson outlines how the science of light is changing the world of computing, manufacturing, agriculture and medicine in New Zealand and around the world. It’s a hidden fact that our modern world runs on light. Every email, every cellphone call, every website is encoded into … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A huge sack of cash for Auckland’s transport, a damning new child poverty report, and jailhouse snitches in the spotlight. The government and council will put $28 billion dollars towards a major plan to fix Auckland’s transport woes. Here’s a handy key facts story from Stuff, because there … Read more
With the announcement that the Government will end offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand, and at the end of our four-yearly schooling by Australia in how to win medals, Vector’s Karl Check says parts of Australia are also making pretty good progress when it comes to shifting away from coal and gas fired … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Australia plays politics with NZ’s refugee offer, National vows to reverse govt’s stance on oil exploration, and dentists warn against getting teeth done overseas. Behind closed doors, Australia asked New Zealand to keep a rejected offer to take refugees interred on Manus Island on the table, … Read more
After hurricane force winds battered Auckland on Tuesday night, lines company Vector awoke to the task of rebuilding its severely damaged network. Minoru Frederiksens talks Don Rowe through the aftermath. On Tuesday night a severe storm tore through Auckland, cutting power to more than 100,000 houses across the region. Whole suburbs went dark as trees … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to the Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government prepares ground for a no-treats budget, Waikato DHB pulls out of expensive app failure, and a controversial immigration programme put on hold. The government is preparing the ground for a treat-free Budget by pointing to the situation they inherited. At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, PM … Read more
Vector’s new technology engineer Kate Murphy shines a light on the history and impact little things can make on energy reduction at scale. New inventions or refinements of old ones continue to make our life better, or at least easier. That’s not a bombshell. But what is sometimes not understood is how tasks that once … Read more
Imagine you didn’t get paid for a month or two for your work. Big businesses have used this tactic to keep cash in the bank – but how long do our corporates take to pay? Rebecca Stevenson investigates. In New Zealand, they account for 97% of businesses. In Australia, 97%. In the UK, 96%. Small … Read more