Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Nau Mai Rā
Kaupapa Māori power company Nau Mai Rā has received a hedge agreement that will allow it to take on customers nationwide and pursue its goal of power equality.
Nau Mai Rā made the announcement after having to halt growth four months ago due to withdrawn support from generators.
Co-founder Ezra Hirawani (Te Āti Haunui-a-Paparangi / Ngāti Rangi / Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Hako / Waikato Tainui) says that after having to let go of 300 whānau in July, the team at Nau Mai Rā accelerated their mission to make a difference in the power industry.
“It has been a whirlwind few months of hard work and negotiations. But despite all the ups and downs we have witnessed kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whakaute, leadership, and how being the hope for your people can bring about generational change.
“Now, thanks to the collective voices of the Nau Mai Rā whānau, we can confidently supply vulnerable Kiwis with power and empower Kiwis everywhere who want to pay it forward via their power bill.
Aotearoa will forever have a kaupapa Māori power company. Our door is open, and our wero to Aotearoa is: do more with your power,” says Hirawani.
From now, Nau Mai Rā will begin reaching out to the 10,000 customers on its waiting list. On signing up, every customer can direct a koha from their power bill to their chosen kaupapa for no additional charge.
The announcement follows an ongoing #nowhānauleftbehind campaign, which included a petition that gained over 4,000 signatures.
Campaigning for power equality saw Hirawani win the 2021 Impact Award for Inclusion, a New Zealander of the Year nomination, and a Manaaki U grant. Nau Mai Rā have received support from across Parliament and now are in negotiations with government agencies to create solutions for whānau.
Co-founder Ben Armstrong (Ngāti Hine) says the real honour of the announcement belongs to whānau who support the Nau Mai Rā kaupapa.
“Every time whānau liked our posts, signed our petition, shared our news stories, and kōrero with their whānau about this kaupapa, we became closer to long term power security for whānau.”
“Every journey is made up of moments. And we are proud to say that collectively, this is our moment.”
Nau Mai Rā applies a Te Ao Māori worldview to delivering electricity, which means a commitment to turning no customer away, and turning no home’s electricity off.
Sign ups are now open at naumaira.com/joinus where the team are there helping each customer on a 1:1 basis.
About Nau Mai Rā
Nau Mai Rā is Aotearoa’s first kaupapa Māori energy retailer. Their core purpose is creating power equity through the spirit of Manaakitanga.
Nau Mai Rā applies a Te Ao Māori worldview to delivering electricity, which means a commitment to turning no customer away, and turning no home’s electricity off. They believe power should be a right, not a privilege, and no whānau should be left behind. They also direct a koha from each bill to a kaupapa of the customer’s choice.
Nau Mai Rā was founded in 2019 by Ezra Hirawani and Ben Armstrong. It is run by a small team of young staff in Hamilton. They have 1,000 customers signed up, approximately 10,000 waiting to join, and are looking at investment options that are beneficial to the cause.
Using the current ‘business as usual’ data available, it’s estimated that over 3 years Nau Mai Rā will grow to service 10,000 customers and deliver over $2m in power savings and more than $1m of koha will have been returned to the community.
