Power prices are set to rise again - this time, according to the
Domestic Energy Users network, by as much as $27 a month.
There are five major power suppliers in New Zealand:
Meridian, Mighty River Power, Genesis, Contact and Trust Power. The first three
are all state-owned and extremely profitable.
Since the turn of the century, nine years ago,
power prices have risen by 72 percent – almost three-quarters of the way to
doubling, while overall inflation is far less, at 28
percent.
It's enough to make you grumpy, and with
electricity, shopping around is such a hassle. It's always difficult to compare
companies and prices.
But now you can compare prices and
you can change suppliers instantly, with no contracts and all of it online, from
home.
You decide how much you want to buy, how often,
from which retailer - and it also promises to be cheaper.
Gee Perry, partner Christie and daughter Hannah normally
steer clear of their electricity meter, but tight times means they've
developed a very close relationship.
Every morning Gee
comes outside and reads his meter - he is a convert to a new website called
Powershop.
He punches in his numbers and it tells him how
much power he has left to use.
"I am not stupid, but I
guess like a lot of people have problems with big bills coming in unexpectedly,
or even expected to be honest," he says. "So this way we can prepay the power
just like a mobile phone. When we are getting low it's really obvious, when we
are using more we find out about then, not two months later and yeah, no big
bills."
Theirs is a totally electric house - water heater,
stove and heating - and the budget is tight as the family has just moved back to
Wellington from Melbourne.
So being able to actively
manage power is attractive, as are the actual rates on
offer.
"We are paying 16c a unit," says Gee. "My brother
is paying 20c a unit, plus he is paying line charges as
well."
They are billing it as a revolution, but it is not
some fringe group that's taking on the big guys - it's big state-owned power
generator Meridian that's behind the Powershop idea.
"The
electricity industry has done an amazing job of making smart people feel dumb,"
says Powershop's Ari Sargent. "They confuse them with tariffs and they don't
understand all that stuff."
"We got three metres here,"
says Gee, at his meter. "The day rate, the night rate, and the ripple control
for the hot water and storage heater. With Powershop, it is a flat
rate."
But that flat rate can go up and down depending on
the wholesale spot price, which product you buy and from
whom.
There are three retailers. All buy from the
wholesale market and then onsell products like advance winter packages and even
specials.
"Think of it as an end of season sale, if you
like," says Ms Sargent. "We have got more power than we need for April. What
people do to get rid of excess stock is get rid of it, and electricity is no
different."
Two other attractions are no contracts and no
fixed lines charges, so it all sounds good - except for those who do not have
broadband, those who are in the country or low income users.
"Low income people and also people who are worried about
risk," says Molly Melhuish, of the Domestic Energy Users Network. "People are so
terrified of their power bills that they would almost rather not look ahead and
use the system.
"Any moving away from what they know I
think is going to stop a majority of people from using the concept."
Powershop has tried to address that teaming up with The
Warehouse and introducing a starter pack that you can buy for $20 at some
stores, and it includes a recharge card that you use at a Post Shop to top up
your account. That's because an amazing 25 percent of electricity users still
chose to pay their bills across the counter.
But Powershop
is internet driven, so it can keep the retail price
down.
But don't worry if you don't want to actively manage
it - they wont cut you off.
"It is possible to set and
forget so you don't have do those things," says Ms Sargent, "but the more
engaged with the service you get the better value you
get."
"If the unit price is cheaper and the choice is
better and there is no contract, then it's better for people who use
electricity, then its better for everyone."
Gee says as
they hunker down for winter, the only time power's going off in their house is
when they want it to.
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