Got a question or comment on this topic? Share your views and experiences with other Consumer members...
To add a comment you need to be a member of consumer.org.nz. Login or Join.
Previous: Our advice
Previous: Our advice
Quite apart from the savings, I really love the graphs etc that Powershop sends out each week. If you enter your meter readings regularly, you can even see on the graphs when the weather was cold (more heaters on = more power) or away on holiday. Having no daily charge is a real benefit if you go away a bit. Now I just hope they take on the phone/internet providers!
I'm changing from Mercury to Powershop. I live in Auckland North/West and expect about $130 savings /year. It took about 10 minutes total to do it on-line including reading the meter. Within two hours a reply email said it would be approximately two weeks to change. Powershop brought out a free power deal a day after I joined so I emailed back and asked for the same deal. They were happy to and I just had a call from Mercury offering me $100 to stay with them. I listened to the fact that they were cheaper in summer but dearer in winter , could change their rates at any time, if I missed autobuy I would pay a higher rate (still cheaper) and would have to be looking for deals all the time.
So I would recommend changing just to get a better deal from your existing retailer! I declined because competition drives the whole market to be competitive including Powershop and it seems to be the trademe of the electricity market. That appeals plus the lakes are 133%"full", it is election year coming and I expect prices for electricity to be cheaper. Will post in a year to see what I save /lose
After 2 and a half months with Powershop the prices have gone through the roof for wholesale electricity. This seems to have forced up Powershop's prices quite suddenly by around 2c all round. The window of opportunity has closed. Exactly what is causing the high prices now 16c/kWh on Dec 17 November was around 4c during the day. Perhaps air conditioners running flat out due to higher than expected temperatures is the cause coupled with lack of inflow into the storage lakes. Consumer have you updated the predicted rates from Powershop? It doesn't appear so. Anyone joining now will have missed out on the really cheap bargains. If I was swapping now I wouldn't. It seems as if Powershop is being caught by spot prices but I thought they bought ahead. Why the sudden increase Consumer? Are electricity prices about to jump?
One thing about powershop that annoys me is that the current uasge rate is assumed for the future.
This plays havoc with buying power ahead for May and June when you will in fact be using nearly twice the current rate.
I would have liked to have seen more detail in the Consumer report - especially more information on consumer problems, and exactly what most of them were etc.
The reason I ask is that the questionnaire we filled in contained more detailled information.
Not to put a damper on this discussion, but the amount that you can save with switching is fairly minor in the realm of consumer expenditure. One less latte a week, or buying a breadmaker (save you over $500/year) will make a bigger difference. Or take on the duopoly of food giants. The current Electricity Review is rather short-sighted - $15 million to encourage competition - yawn - closing the gate after the horse has bolted. Oh the good old days of ECNZ.
Powershop looks awesome and I would swap in a heartbeat, if I could. It is not available here in Thames. So no use to us sadly...
I changed from Mercury engery to Genesis as I would get a better price for the power I used as per your web site. Mercury phoned up and offered to match the price if I stayed with them.
I was very surprised to see such a low rating for Contact Energy. We switched to them a year ago from Genesis because of a lower price offer. Also, we recently moved house, and have had them out to see about running gas in from the street. They handled all of these transactions efficiently and the staff has been very helpful and friendly. I am very satisfied with Contact so would be interested in hearing from those who are not - what sorts of problems have you had?
You havetotal control of your electricity needs and costs. The sooner they start selling gas the better.