4.4 Energising Regulatory Reform

Advocate for central government regulatory reform to help accelerate the rollout of small-scale renewable energy generation (REG) and community-scale REG across the district and ensure the District Plan alignment.

• Partnered advocacy: Advocate for the removal of national regulatory barriers to enable faster deployment of localised energy systems. For example, introduction of two-way electricity tariffs that reward households and businesses for exporting renewable energy to the grid, especially during periods of peak demand.
• Collaborative policy development: Establish an energy advisors working group to co-design regulatory improvement recommendations.
• District Plan alignment: Integrate recommended improvements into the next District Plan review of Chapter 30 Energy and Utilities.
• Develop improved guidance: Provide clear guidance for small-scale REG and community-scale REG projects in the district to improve understanding of District Planning rules and requirements for consenting.
• Monitoring and feedback: Implement a tracking system for small-scale REG and community-scale REG consent outcomes to refine future regulation review.