Hi,
Just got a mail from Pulse Energy that our rates are going up this April.
I have tried the power switch website, but its going over my head.
Could you please advise any tips/tricks on seeing how or which power company is the cheapest?
I am not looking to bundle any service, as have no gas connection to our house and partner works at Telco so get discounted internet.
I think everyone has got an alert from their provider about price increases, so this might a good place to discuss?
If you are happy to modify your usage a little, or a lot, Contact do a free power plan from 9 to midnight each day. We put the dishwasher on, do a load of washing before bed, charge devices, whack the heat pump on. Can shave quite a lot off the bill if disciplined with it
And charge your EV if you have one.
And topping up the solar battery for the night.
Yeah depends what their charge is per kWh is, as Contact energy Good Nights plan was going up to 21.7c vs Mercury was charging 14.88c, so not worth getting 3 hours free, by paying 50% more per kWh.
I was paying previously 18.3c kWh with 3 hours of free power with Contact, so changing over worked out to be cheaper than before.
Another thing to look for is to try lock in 2 years vs 1 year, as electricity costs are always going up every year and you can get a signup bonus that could be larger.
I locked in with Mercury for 2 years and got $200.
I think all are going up in April, PowerShop is too
Worth considering taking up to z electric offer with 75l of free fuel within 2 weeks. No contract.. Worth over $200 so see this as either free fuel or free power in short term.
https://www.cheapies.nz/node/31239
Can confirm from last invoice the referral code is still valid.
I got a notice of price changes from Flick, which worked out to be a decrease for me — increase in fixed charge but decrease in usage rates.
Yup got the same. But it increased my monthly by $9.
I got the same email, except I'm with just energy - its the same company as pulse.
It said my rates were going up and they sent me a comparison…it was no different š¤£ i think I've been over paying for power for some time! But finding a different company is a bit overwhelming!
Powerswitch worked out electric kiwi was best for my usage. And it didn't even include the free hour of power that you get to nominate. Have mine in the morning, heat the place in winter do laundry, only turn the hw cylinder on for the free hour and its plenty for 1 person. Also really like their payment system, i pay weekly at no extra charge. They direct debit the exact amount on payday. So no worries about paying the bill it couldn't be easier or more convenient
i second electric kiwi if your disciplined. I've set my hot water on a timer and increased the size of the element to heat it faster and this is enough for our 4 person household. As well as setting heating/cooling the house at full power and using the dishwasher and washing machine at 9pm
how did you set the timer on the HWC? something that i'm looking to do to.
Atm it's manually switching it on and off and I got tired of it lol.
Is it something that you can DIY (have electrical knowledge) or is it something that sparky needs to do?
i have a family member who is a sparky and they installed a wifi circuit breaker so i've just setup a timer
If you own your home get a sparky to put a plug and socket connection on your hw cylinder, then you can use any timer. I switch it on and off manually have my alarm set, it's no hassle as im firing up other appliances for the free hour of power. 33% by the way is my average free power usage. Closer to 50 % free in the winter when im cranking up the heat pump and 3 heaters to warm the place up
How much does it cost to get a sparky to do that? Is one hour enough?
Could easily diy it, but it would void you and/or your landlords insurance if it went wrong and started a fire
One other tip if your with electric kiwi and get the hour of free power. Boiling water is the ultimate weed killer. Non toxic, very fast (they wilt and die before your eyes) soaks in and kills the roots and also any seeds so they are slow to come back. Kills even stubborn weeds like doc
Just make sure you don't get Legionnaires from letting the temperature drop too low https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatmā¦.
I do my own spreadsheet and calculate what would the cost be based on my last year usage. I'm aware that won't be exact and will probably give indication at best, especially with those On/Off peak hours (You could get into details by going with the 30mins usage if you want)
Myself is still locked until May 2023 but have started looking and found that (if the rate is not going to change later) Mercury would be the cheapest.