As the power failed in Hawkes Bay and Tairawhiti during Cyclone Gabrielle, some electric vehicles enabled their users to keep the essentials switched on in their homes.
Certain EV models are capable of bidirectional charging - which means as well as being charged at home, they can also take unused power in their batteries and use it to charge vital appliances like fridges and freezers.
A step on from this, is vehicle-to-home - where you can take the power you don't use in your car and use it to power your home or business - and the ultimate: vehicle-to-grid - where you could take your EV's unused power generated by solar and export it to the grid.
To talk us through the possibilities, and tell us which EVs are currently able to be used to provide back up power in an emergency, Kathryn is joined by Gavin Shoebridge who's with Ecotricity and helped deliver an EV to a stranded family in Hawkes Bay during the Cyclone.
Photo: RNZ
