Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) Round 5

Objectives

Support households in energy hardship through delivery of in-home energy advice interventions and support services.

Eligibility

Service providers who have a track record in providing targeted, specialised services and education to households in energy hardship
Service providers who have existing staff who have Home Performance Advisor Certification
Service providers who have established pathways to receive referrals for households and experience in providing referrals to the Warmer Kiwi Homes and Healthy Homes Initiative.

About this Request for Proposals (RFP)

SEEC supports providers that offer targeted, specialised advice and education to the 300,000 households in energy hardship in Aotearoa New Zealand.

These providers use the funding to support households achieve warmer, more energy-efficient homes and lower their power bills.

In February 2025, responsibility for administering SEEC transferred from MBIE to EECA.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) will offer up to 7 providers grants to deliver at least 800 unique in-home energy interventions and support services each, by 31 June 2027.

Who should apply

We are seeking established providers who are experienced in providing targeted, specialised advice and education to households in energy hardship.

You must:

have been working with the community(ies) you wish to provide in-home services to for at least 5 years
have existing staff employed by your organisation who have Home Performance Advisor Certification, and, if required
be able to train staff to Home Performance Adviser Certification.
have established pathways to receive referrals for households in energy hardship.
have existing referral pathways to Warmer Kiwi Homes, Healthy Homes Initiative and other support services.
be experienced in conducting and reporting post-intervention surveys.

Who shouldn’t apply

This RFP is not looking for:

Proposals that don’t focus primarily on in-home energy advice, e.g. that focus on providing seminars or workshops
Providers who are not experienced in providing in-home energy advice to households in energy hardship to the Home Performance Advice Certification standard
Providers who are seeking funding to build organisational capability, expertise or administration support
New pilots or initiatives.

What you need to provide

in-home energy advice interventions to assess household energy use and provide tailored advice on reducing energy costs
household-specific recommendations, including changes in energy usage habits.
follow-up with households to track progress and reinforce energy-saving behaviours.

Providers also need to be able to provide these support services (though not for every household):

low-cost energy efficient equipment and devices e.g. LED light bulbs, draught stoppers, thermal or double-layered curtains, energy-efficient power strips, and hot water cylinder wraps to households.
compliance checks with Healthy Home Standards and support/advocacy for tenant’s home to become Healthy Homes Standard-complaint with the landlord.
inspections to identify inefficiencies, such as poor insulation, draughty windows, and inefficient heating sources.
minor home upgrades like sealing draughts, installing window insulation kits, and fixing ventilation issues.
referrals to Warmer Kiwi Homes, Healthy Homes Initiative and other support programmes.
personalised energy advocacy and power bill support
assist eligible families in applying for financial support schemes or hardship grants
complete follow-up surveys with at least 10% of households.

Providers will also be required to provide quarterly reporting to EECA and attend regular meetings with EECA’s SEEC relationship lead to discuss project progress.

How to respond to this RFP

1. Create an account on GETS

You must be registered on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS) website to view all RFP documents and submit your funding proposal.

It’s quick and easy to register.

EECA will use GETS to publish updates and communicate with parties during the RFP process.

Subscribe to this RFP(external link)

3. Attend a provider hui

EECA will host 2 online sessions to talk providers through the funding proposal process.

This funding round process is different to previous rounds, so it's worth tuning in.

15 April, 10am:	Register for hui 1 here(external link)
17 April, 1pm:	Register for hui 2 here(external link)

These will cover the same content; you only need to attend one.

You will have an opportunity to ask questions via the in-webinar chat. EECA will circulate responses to these questions to everyone registered for this RFP on GETS.

4. Submit your funding proposal by 12pm, 8 May 2025.

This funding must be committed by 30 June 2025.

Key dates:

RFP opens:	8 April 2025
Provider hui:	10am, 15 April, 2025
	1pm, 17 April, 2025
Deadline for questions:	12pm, 24 April 2025
RFP closes:	12pm, 8 May 2025

Contact us

If you have questions, email us at applications@eeca.govt.nz before 12pm, 24 April 2025.

You can also submit any questions via GETS before this date.

Past SEEC funding round details

A total of $1.7 million was allocated to 17 projects around the country in the third funding round, announced in November 2022.

The funding focus for Round 3 was on pilot projects that:
- filled gaps in the projects funded to date in terms of the type of project, location, and the people and communities they target, and/or
- built on the success of SEEC-funded projects to date, and
- had the potential to scale.
Download list of Round 3 SEEC funding recipients [PDF 39 KB]

Government supports more energy-saving projects to help more Kiwis save money(external link)
In April 2022, MBIE brought forward $350,000 of SEEC funding to be made available to existing SEEC-funded projects that could be restarted or extended to deliver further energy education and support through autumn and winter 2022.

This was in response to the growing cost of living, which was likely to be exacerbated as winter increased households’ energy needs.

It drew on the opportunity to provide more immediate support to households in need by enabling existing SEEC providers to maintain momentum, using existing staff and delivery capability.

Earlier recipients of SEEC Programme funding were invited to apply for a funding boost to restart or extend their SEEC-funded pilot.

In May 2022, 5 existing SEEC projects were selected to receive a funding boost.

Download a list of SEEC funding boost recipients [PDF 31 KB]
A total of $1.65 million was allocated to 15 projects in the second funding round, announced in November 2021.

Funding for Round 2 focused on pilots that have potential to scale and can be substantially delivered within 12 months.

Priority was given to initiatives that filled gaps in terms of location, type and who the initiative targets, to build on the projects funded in the first round.

Download a list of Round 2 SEEC funding recipients [PDF 39 KB]

More energy saving advice to hit home thanks to government funding(external link)
A total of $1.26 million was allocated to 9 projects in the first funding round, announced in May 2021.

Funding for Round 1 focused on pilots that could be implemented to deliver results by winter 2021, and that had the potential to scale.

Download a list of Round 1 SEEC funding recipients [PDF 34 KB]

Government gives households extra help to reduce their power bills(external link)

In mid-2024 MBIE, commissioned consultants MartinJenkins to conduct an external evaluation of the SEEC fund. The purpose of the evaluation was to:
- help officials gain a greater understanding of SEEC's benefits and costs by preparing a cost-benefit-analysis
- generate insights that will ensure improved delivery of future SEEC funding rounds.
The evaluation found that SEEC delivers a positive return on investment. Societal returns, including co-funding leveraged by providers, shows a $1.70 benefit for $1 invested. The returns on the Government investment only are higher at $2.21. These are conservative estimates to account for poor-quality historical data.

The evaluation found that SEEC activities:
- deliver unique value in their own right
- generate additional referrals that would not have otherwise happened (for example to the Healthy Homes Initiative and Warmer Kiwi Homes).
The evaluation provides valuable insights and direction that helps:
- target future SEEC funding to better support households in energy hardship
- achieve a significantly higher return of investment.
EECA officials are now considering the evaluation and its key recommendations:
- Develop a strategic long-term plan for delivering SEEC funding.
- Optimise the return on investment by targeting funding to a smaller number of proven providers, who demonstrate that their delivery model is aligned with the success factors described in the evaluation report.
- Improve monitoring and reporting.
Read the full evaluation report [PDF 1.5 MB]