powershop, electric companies

[GreenMeansGo]

came across this...
http://www.powershop.co.nz/
anyone with them?

not available in Hawke's Bay, but got me wondering about nz electric companies in general, rates and billing, plan choices (which we don't have here) etc.

info please, thanks!

[IanW99]

came across this...
http://www.powershop.co.nz/
anyone with them?

not available in Hawke's Bay, but got me wondering about nz electric companies in general, rates and billing, plan choices (which we don't have here) etc.

info please, thanks!

Check out PowerSwitch

Ian

[constablechuck]

I've been a Powershop customer for a few months now and compared to Contact Energy I'm saving between 25 and 30%. Were a high usage household so the savings are bigger for us.

We had Contact for nearly 3 years, I didn't bother to make comparisons back then and just randomly picked a company. It turns out Contact is the most expensive.

I had Genesis when I was on secondment in Wellington and they were better than Contact but not as cheap as Powershop.

Before switching to Powershop I did a lot of research and Powershop is the cheapest option in NZ. The second cheapest is Mercury, if you don't like the "interactive" approach of Powershop then Mercury may be a good option.

I recommend checking out Powershop at: http://www.powershop.co.nz/

Pro's:

There's no line charges.
No security deposit.
You can buy the cheapest power credits available at any given time.
You can buy cheaper power in advance for use during higher usage months.
You can set up an AP from your bank account so your powershop account can build up, sort of like smooth pay.
It's up to 30% cheaper than competitors.
They bribed me with $50 free credit for signing up (and I can get more free credit by referring others

Cons:

You have to give them a Credit Card # or Bank Account# so they can square up your account each month if your credits are in the negative on billing day.
Switching over takes a few weeks.
You have to be internet savvy to log into your Powershop Account, compare credit packages (price per unit etc..), and buy credits through the site,
For the most efficient management of your powershop account you should log into your account and enter your meter reading frequently.
Some say that your at risk of paying a higher price in the winter or during power shortages because the big power companies buy power units in bulk so they can protect their customers from sudden increases and level the price throughout the year. However, Powershop is a subsidiary of Meridian (the biggest state owned electric company in NZ, so I doubt Meridian would let Powershop prices go high enough to damage it's customer base, I suspect that in crunch Meridian would sell units through Powershop at a reasonable rate)

[GreenMeansGo]

thanks Constable Chuck, very helpful

[exflightattenda]

Hey guys
I been using Powershop for a few weeks now. Seems all good.
Its more of a user pays system where you buy power instead of getting a bill with a surprise. Teaches you how to read your meter and really understand your power usage. Not bad in Melbourne I was getting bills for about $300 every 8 weeks. Here its $120 for a month (on average) and that's NZD not Aussie!
Great idea whose ever this was!