Here's a quick guide to how Powerswitch works.

We estimate your energy use

Based on our research into the different ways in which people use electricity and gas, we take the answers you provide about your own pattern of electricity use at step 2, information from your bill (if you provide it), and then estimate how much energy you will use in a year.

Using this estimate, we compare the different pricing plans available to you and identify the cheapest. To find out how we estimate the amount of energy you use each year, see Our estimates & assumptions.

Accurate information is important

It is important that you answer all the questions as accurately as possible and make sure that the power bill you use:

• is based on an actual, rather than estimated, reading
• relates to a period of typical energy usage. For example, don't use a bill which includes a time when you were away on holiday or were doing something, such as renovation work, that meant you used more power than you normally would.

No bill? No problem

By creating a number of "standard households" we've made sure you can use Powerswitch regardless of whether you have a bill handy.

If you ask us to estimate your usage, the answers you give at step 2 let us work out which of our standard households most closely matches yours in terms of energy use. We are then able to compare the cost of the various  pricing plans available and identify the cheapest.

For more information, including details of the assumptions we have made see Our estimates & assumptions.

Important: while it's possible to use Powerswitch in this way - without usage information from a bill - the price estimates we provide in the results will be much more accurate if you do have information from a bill based on an actual meter reading.
 

Why so many questions?

The answers you give at step 1 help us to build a profile of your household and, in turn, to compare your existing pricing plan with possible alternatives.

For example, hot water normally accounts for about 35 percent of the electricity a household uses. If you have a gas hot-water cylinder, your household would use about 35 percent less electricity than one with an electric hot-water cylinder.

If you use electric heaters, we also ask whether these are plug-in, night-store heaters or heat pumps. That's because night-store heaters use controlled power, which is often cheaper.

Your company and plan

You will first need to identify which company you are with and then which of their plans you are on.

As some companies have a large number of plans we have used the answers to the questions about your household to identify the range of plans that you are most likely to be on. If the plan you are on is not on the list then click on the text below the box to get a list of all the plans offered by that company.

How much energy have you used?

All the information we need to know is on your bill:

• the start and finish dates for the time your bill covers; and
• the amount of power you have used.
• If you are on a plan with more than one meter you will need to enter the amount for each meter separately. In some cases we will ask you about a meter that doesn't seem to appear on your power bill. You should put "0" in the box (this is because with some companies, if you have not used any power they do not print the details on your bill).
• If you wish you can add together the amounts from successive power bills and enter that information. Just ensure that you get the start date from the first bill, the finish date from the last bill, and that you don't have any bills missing in between.

If you cannot work out how to read your bill you can click the help button and see a sample bill.

Your results

If you have provided information from a recent power bill we'll show you the plan you are on, all other comparable plans available in your area (that is, plans of the same type as the one you're already on), and any savings you might make by switching.

Remember: the comparisons are based on estimates so you should always check with a power company before making any decision to switch.

If you've asked us to estimate your usage at step 3 you will see the plans of the type that you're most likely on given the answers you gave at step 2.

If you wish, you can look at what a different type of plan would cost by choosing the options in the "Refine results" section.

Please note: there may be significant costs associated with changing from one type of plan to another. Check with your company first.

If you click on the name of a plan you can view full details about that plan and information on how to contact the company.

All tariffs used in our calculations include GST and have been rounded to the nearest 100th of a cent.

When calculating the annual costs we have excluded any rebates from community-owned trusts, line companies or any dividends paid by Contact Energy to its shareholders.