Here is why I say nope and why you're taking a risk:

1) With Flick it is easy to keep your bill down with their app etc.
2) Paua to the People /don't appear/ to have a control panel - they just bill you. Basically, if you make the mistake to use power during an epic power spike it is on you.

This $1 per day (if that) saving is not worth the potential of a bigger bill. At-least Flick have put quite a bit of work into their site, app etc whilst Paua to the People don't appear to have any of that (their signup form is not even hosted with them). If you're going to try it then I'll be interested to see what they've got when you're a customer of theirs.

Comparing Flick's charges - For standard user: 3c per day and 0.5c per unit cheaper than flick. Low user - 0.5c per unit cheaper. So in theory you would save $50.95 per year for standard user with 8000units / year usage. Guessing all other costs will be the same. Although another difference is PTTP charge a late payment fee as soon as an invoice is overdue, While flick only charge one if you have 2 or more payments in a row bounce.

Although im curious as to why both Flick and PTTP need to charge a surcharge per unit instead of just a higher daily charge. Since the lines charges and wholesale costs are directly passed on. I can't think of what other overheads a power company would have that scale to usage.

Im aware that in the case of low user plans they have to charge a higher fixed cost per unit. As the regulated max daily charge doesn't cover actual fixed costs.

Thank you all for the replies 

michaelmurphy

What do you do during the epic power spike, turn off everything ?!
Does the Flick app alert you to the price spikes ?

Note PTTP do also have a plan called 'Simple As' plan that has a seaonal flat rate in addition to the Flick style wholesale ''dynamic' rate. That would remove the spike issue. The PTTP 'Simple As' plan is extremely competitive and for my last bill according to Powerswitch was $1 less than their wholesale plan over a year and $100 less than Flick per annum

Aredwood

What did you base your PTTP savings [daily and unit] on, your own Flick bill ?

BTW I didn't know Flick didn't charge penalties unless you did that for 2 bills. Is that on their site ?

@xlinknz All I did was compare the per unit surcharge that Flick and PTTP add onto the wholesale price. And the extra they add onto the daily charge. In theory all other charges should be the same - same wholesale prices, lines company and metering fees. I picked 8000 units / year as it is the cutoff between low and standard user.

@xlinknz sorry missed your message until now.

It depends - normally we just move use to off-peak. I have had the heatpump operating during an "epic" power spike and only noticed a ~$3 increase on my bill that week. There was one power spike (beginning of this year) I didn't get notified and we happened to be using the oven + the hot water was heating... that one cost around $15 for that day but in general we're enjoying lower power pricing.

I've done a comprehensive comparison between power prices and we're better off with Flick by around $80 per month on average (compared to the cheapest "big name" power provider). Savings are there for those who change how they use electricity. My average weekly power bill comes in between $25-$35 and that is with a server operating 24/7, a desktop computer on 24/7, heatpump use (winter) as well as other appliances such as washer + heatpump dryer.

We're not at all limiting our use either - the dryer (which is a heatpump dryer mind you) gets used almost every night after 12am (just set this on a delay start), cooking is done every night at around 7pm and there is always technology operating. 

Wanted and tried to sign up earlier this year but they don't have access (or didn't at the time) to all the smart meters in the area.  Not sure if this has changed (I did ask them to let me know)...

We're in Whitby (Porirua) with a smart meter installed through Mercury.

All, the question  I ask myself is why use Flick when I can get the same or lower cost from PTTP using their simple as price plan which is essentially fixed price [seasonally] so I don't wear the risk of spikes and wholesale variability

What concerns me about Flick is that I've read much disappointment in their Choice app e.g. not being notified of price spikes and no way to get those notifications via an alternative channel e.g. email. I asked them a ETA on a uplift to the app or other mechanisms but unfortunately they cannot advise. I've also read of other issues people have had but by far the bulk of people appear to be happy with them

That said I could try Flick and if I am disappointed I can always change to PTTP. What I do like is that they say each week they tell me how much I saved over my previous supplier/plan

Personally I'm a bigger believer in if you didn't support competition there wouldn't be competition

I agree with your logic, X, re comparison between PtP and Flick. PtP appear to be offering fixed prices for each quarter based on expected spot prices. Theoretically, if you made no changes to your usage then you would save about the same. However, being able to fix the price for a quarter usually means there is a small premium. Still, you could still capture a large chunk of the savings you might accrue with Flick without the risk of the odd bill spike.

Even if you wanted to be on spot, PtP looks like a cheaper option than Flick. If you can get alerts then it might be worth the switch. I just wonder if the small extra saving is worth the bother for those already with Flick...

I've just had a really bad experience with Paua to the People.

So bad that I signed up to this forum to warn others against using them.

Their billing is very haphazard with sometimes not sending you an invoice prior to deducting by direct debit weekly payments.

However, if you don't sign up for Direct Debit, and they miss sending you an invoice and therefore you have not paid on time, you will be pinged with a $15 late penalty.

The invoices also do not give you meter readings so you have no way of checking whether your electricity usage has been correctly charged.

it's because of the lack of billing transparency as well as their slopping invoicing that I have reverted to using one of the major electricity suppliers.

You have been warned. I don't normally bother with publicizing bad service but Paua has got me so incensed that you have me ranting online on this forum. Oh dear.

Thanks for reading.

Yvonne

@Yvonne

Thank you for the feedback as it is hard to find feedback on PPtP. I"m still with Flick

At least PPtP have no fixed term contract so you could change

Do you raise your concerns with them ?

Yes I raised my issues with Paua but as they are unable or unwilling to change their billing system it was easier for me to just leave (as not fixed term contract). I really don't like that meter readings are not shown on their invoices.

According to the Powerswitch website, Flick is more expensive for me.

I used them for around a year, and did notice the delay of the billing like you occasionally but had direct debit running so it did not affect me.  The only reason I moved away from them is they got rid of their 'Easy As' model which was non spot pricing based. 

On a side note I felt they actually gave a really good invoice though, of what you used and when versus the big players like Genesis.  Yes no actual reading number but usage was very clear based on the day, time (split into Am,Pm,Evening,Late,Night) and units consumed.

itxtme:

 

The only reason I moved away from them is they got rid of their 'Easy As' model which was non spot pricing based. 

 

So is the "Easy As" scheme different than the "Cheap As" scheme they now offer?

I would have moved to Paua To The People (PTTP) if they were able to get my data:

Unfortunately at this time we are unable to supply your address as the owner of your meter (Metrix) is unable to supply the data we need to create your invoice. Metrix have informed us that they expect to be able to supply the information in the first Quarter of 2018.

I moved to Flick instead so I know that it would have been no hardship not to have their app which is why I might try PTTP later this year. The Flick app notifications are useful but are not user configurable so they are just annoying at least 90% of the time.

Hi All, I maintain my low opinion re PTTP based on my experience with them so use them at your own risk.

I've got a much better deal with Meridian now anyway - it's saving me 15%. I much prefer a monthly invoice showing meter readings and which gives me prompt payment discounts.

Plus upon switching, I got $200 credit. BTW I'm a low user.

Pays to do your homework is my last word on this matter.

Regards

Yvonne