Electrify your own community

1) Build an organising committee

You’ll need a handful of committed local people to drive this initiative in your community. We started out as 5 friends with a shared passion for climate action, and grew from there (we now have 10 people in our “core” group). Ask around, find some local people who are jazzed about the prospect of electrifying your community, then invite others to join you. Having at least one person with writing and communication skills is important to get your message out. We’ve found that the more diverse our group is (different backgrounds, skills, networks) the stronger we are together.

2) Collect Resources

Rewiring Australia, led by engineer, inventor, author, and all-round energy guru Saul Griffith, are keen to promote electrification across Australia. Their website has many valuable resources on the what/why/how of electrifying our homes.

There are many more useful resources to learn from, share and collate key information such as Renew’s video collection, Merribek Council, Energy Tips and Brighte’s Getting Off Gas Guide.

3) Create a plan

What do you want to achieve? It's good to identify some goals to and then work towards them with a plan.  Consider agreeing on a broad mission statement first. 

For instance, perhaps it is about promoting the benefits of electrification to your community - then you could work towards a range of education initiatives such as forums, emails and local media articles. You could also think of community engagement activities such as Electric open houses/storytelling (people who already have some of the electrification items explain the process and experience), electric vehicle open day (inviting community members who have EVs to share their experience with other community members) etc

Perhaps it is about getting subsidies, a community battery, a solar farm or another form of support that requires government assistance. Then you could work out a plan that involves lobbying your local MP/s and also contacting your local council, and maybe talk to the local bank about low interest green loans. 

Perhaps it is about building a large base of community members so you can bargain for good deals for electric appliances from suppliers and/or installers. Then you might want to work on gaining as many numbers as possible.

4) Spread the word in your community

The more people in your community who register their interest in your pilot, the more likely you’ll get it off the ground. So get the word out: flyers, social media, events, merchandise, press releases, digital assets.

We had a lot of early success by shooting an explainer video and launching an online survey which asks people where they are at with their electrification journey. The survey also boosted our email list. We’re happy to share the resources we’ve created and answer any questions about activities we’ve undertaken in our community.