Electricity plan shopping

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975 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#2991248 2-Nov-2022 22:34

billgates:

I contacted my current electricity/gas provider and asked them to send me hourly data of the past 61 days to cover two full months of billing and they did even better and provided 30 minutes usage for the past 61 days in a nice spreadsheet. I then calculated the peak and off-peak usage against the plans that I find pricing attractive for. Octopus energy is not available under Waipa networks yet. I am getting solar installed next month so a good solar buyback rate is important. Without taking solar into account, the current Anytime Genesis plan is still the cheapest taking the last two full months' usage into account.

With Solar, ideally, I would want to be on a low user plan compared to current standard so minimize that cost and I should be able to shave off at least 9AM to 4PM of peak usage costs via solar and have credit in summer as well. Genesis Low user EV plan might be the winner with that taking its daily charge into account and their EV team confirmed that I will not have to pay the $300 early disconnection fees moving from current Genesis contract to their EV plan.

Be sure to include a power diverter such as a Paladin unit into your solar installation. Next best thing to having a battery storage system so far as self consumption of your generation is concerned.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

billgates

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#2991250 2-Nov-2022 22:44

HarmLessSolutions: Be sure to include a power diverter such as a Paladin unit into your solar installation. Next best thing to having a battery storage system as far as self-consumption of your generation is concerned.

Our house is only 2 years old, and I made the mistake of going with a gas infinity system against the advice of our architect who was pushing extremely hard for a heat pump hot water solution. We had bad experiences in past rentals with hot water cylinder with hot water running out and arguments ensuing from bathroom, but those were smaller size cylinders back then compared to 300 to 400l you can get now. We spent $6k incl buying a califont, bathroom controllers, gas piping etc only 2 years ago so still want to hold on to it until gas becomes expensive. I have the MyPV AC.THOR 9S solar diverter in mind as it requires no CT clamps and natively integrates with our solar inverter like SMA and even Fronius and will automagically do the hot water heating via weather forecasts as it has an ethernet port built into it.

Do whatever you want to do man.

tdgeek

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#3004305 1-Dec-2022 18:55

Got this today, Im with EK. Bolded is my poetic licence/anonymity

Hi Donald Trump (lol)

We’re writing today to give you an update on the state of the energy market and changes to your electricity prices.

Energy market update

In summary, what we have been seeing is record prices for wholesale electricity and record profits for generators.

In the last 12 months, the big four generators, Mercury, Meridian, Contact and Genesis, saw their combined net profits double from $788 million to more than $1.5 billion.

To put those numbers into perspective, Meridian’s profit went up by $640 for each of its retail customers.

Energy prices for the 2023 calendar year are currently averaging at $153/MWh (based on prices at 22/11/2022). That compares to an average price of $75/MWh between 2012 and 2018. The Electricity Authority has previously stated that it has “observed some evidence to suggest that prices may not have been determined in a competitive environment”.

Right now, after a lot of rain, our lakes are full. But the energy market is still predicting very high prices in the coming years. We firmly believe that it’s time the government did something, as these record profits come at the expense of energy affordability, and the wellbeing of Kiwi households.

An option is to break these large companies into their retail and wholesale arms (the same as was done with Chorus and Telecom). The telecommunications reforms have been very successful, enabling stronger competition which has driven down prices. There is no reason why consumers couldn’t benefit from similar reforms in electricity.

We always work to offer the most competitive prices we can, and we have taken a number of steps to ensure that your rates stay as low as possible. We know that inflation is hurting Kiwi families, and we are saddened that our industry is contributing to this.

Price change notice

From 1 January 2023, your rates at 10 Downing St, Christchurch will change. The average cost increase for customers in your area is 98 cents per day.

Your prices are shown below (excluding GST):

Existing

From 1 January 2023

Fixed cost per day:

$0.30

Usage cost per kWh - Peak:

$0.3243

$0.3684

Usage cost per kWh -
Off-peak shoulder:

$0.2156

$0.2578

Usage cost per kWh -
Off-peak night:

$0.1621

$0.1842

The amount of change you see on your bill will depend on how much you use your Hour of Power and cheaper off-peak times. On the MoveMaster plan, you get half price power at night (11pm-7am), so you can make big savings by utilising these times. Peak times are also when carbon emissions are generally higher, so by moving power off-peak you're more likely to be using cleaner generation too.

As always, we want to thank you for sticking with us. We will continue to advocate for change in the New Zealand electricity market, and fair prices for Kiwi families.

If you have any questions about your prices, drop us a line. We're always happy to help.

tdgeek

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#3004306 1-Dec-2022 19:00

The three rates for me are up 13%, 19% and 13%

Peak, Off peak Shoulder and Off Peak Night

HarmLessSolutions

975 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3004318 1-Dec-2022 19:48

EK rates above are pretty meaningless without knowing:

a. What are the times that dictate the peak, off-peak, etc. periods

b. What is their buy back tariff on solar.

On the face of we get better rates than those from Ecotricity who have renewables guaranteed supplied electricity.

I seem to have a compatibility issue with their website so can't interrogate it for the above info. Edit: EK's website isn't compatible with Firefox. Using their rates isn't convenient for our current EV charging during weekend daylight hour scheduling, which on Ecotricity gives us off-peak all weekend to 'catch' any shortfall from our PV generation.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

tdgeek

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#3004320 1-Dec-2022 19:54

HarmLessSolutions:

EK rates above are pretty meaningless without knowing:

a. What are the times that dictate the peak, off-peak, etc. periods

b. What is their buy back tariff on solar.

On the face of we get better rates than those from Ecotricity who have renewables guaranteed supplied electricity.

I seem to have a compatibility issue with their website so can't interrogate it for the above info.

I think the issue is if EK are increasing prices by these %, are/will others do the same? You would think so, otherwise EK will be out in the cold, bye bye.

So, on that, comparisons can only be made when all other providers front up

Potentially EK may be failing? based on the way power retail works, Id hardly think so, they are potentially less affected by brick and mortar/staff than others.

HarmLessSolutions

975 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3004327 1-Dec-2022 20:07

For us EK's rates look like this (GST incl.)

Pay for what you use

Peak

(7am-9am, 5pm-9pm)

$0.4539 per kWh

Off-peak shoulder

(9am-5pm, 9pm-11pm)

$0.3177 per kWh

Off-peak night

(11pm-7am)

$0.2269 per kWh

Plus a fixed cost of

$0.3400 per day

With solar buyback rate of

$0.1438 per kWh

9am-5pm rate is 10c/kWh more than we're paying on Ecotricity's off-peak rates which run all weekend. So essentially all of our PV generation is during 'Off peak shoulder' so anything in excess of our PV generation such as EV & lawnmower charging, and electric garden tool use is going to be at a dearer rate. PV buyback rate is about 4c higher than Ecotricity's but that's not enough to balance out the higher supply rates IMO.

The more suppliers raise their supply rates the better the viability of adding additional PV capacity. Commonly referred to as the electricity generator's death spiral I believe.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

timmmay

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#3004330 1-Dec-2022 20:15

22% increase to all rates round here in Wellington. I had a quick look at Octopus and their rates are about the same. I wonder if the big gentailers are cheaper on peak these days. We're about 20% peak, 35% shoulder, 25% night, 21% free, I expect about a 20% price rise.

WyleECoyoteNZ

1049 posts

Uber Geek

#3004336 1-Dec-2022 20:25

I'm not with anyone at present, living with family, but going back to where we were soon.

For a place in Johnsonville, about 99% sure going to go with Mercury as a Standard user, even though usage was around 6600 a year.

Reason being, Mercury with 1 Year Fixed, as a Standard user, daily is a little bit high, $2.0182, but the kWh charge is $0.1599

For reference, on the same plan as a low user, $0.5910 a day and a $0.2250 kWh charge

tdgeek

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#3004337 1-Dec-2022 20:26

HarmLessSolutions:

The more suppliers raise their supply rates the better the viability of adding additional PV capacity. Commonly referred to as the electricity generator's death spiral I believe.

We cannot really get PV here based on our "intricate roof"

While it financially doesn't bother me, the % that are shown in these threads will impact some people in Autumn/Winter. Ironically a ULEB might be attractive. Too many windows and doors downstairs for that I expect for us, but Im sure log burners may appear more attractive to some

HarmLessSolutions

975 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3004340 1-Dec-2022 20:33

tdgeek:

We cannot really get PV here based on our "intricate roof"

While it financially doesn't bother me, the % that are shown in these threads will impact some people in Autumn/Winter. Ironically a ULEB might be attractive. Too many windows and doors downstairs for that I expect for us, but Im sure log burners may appear more attractive to some

Worth considering ground mounting PV if you have the land area to do so. Cheaper installation, easier cleaning and maintenance, and no roof degradation concerns.

We did this on our previous place:

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/index.php?route=module/blog/view&blog_id=7

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

tdgeek

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#3004346 1-Dec-2022 20:53

HarmLessSolutions:

tdgeek:

We cannot really get PV here based on our "intricate roof"

While it financially doesn't bother me, the % that are shown in these threads will impact some people in Autumn/Winter. Ironically a ULEB might be attractive. Too many windows and doors downstairs for that I expect for us, but Im sure log burners may appear more attractive to some

Worth considering ground mounting PV if you have the land area to do so. Cheaper installation, easier cleaning and maintenance, and no roof degradation concerns.

We did this on our previous place:

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/index.php?route=module/blog/view&blog_id=7

Thanks for that. I had wondered that, but the back yard is landscaped. 1/4 acre section in a modern subdivision, but maybe not long enough, as we have a vege area hedged off, and an established Magnolia

The issue is here, while the house, 2 level, is ok size wise at 283 sqm, the roof is "intricate" Harrisons told me. No large areas, plus the solar HW is in the middle of one area. We were quoted $9500 for 1.7 kW on that space. (around the tubes) I assumed that with panels these days having micro inverters, I could have a few here, a few there a few over there etc

I can PM you my street address if Google Maps would give you enough of a look?

eonsim

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3004355 1-Dec-2022 21:38

24% increase in Hamilton, Octopus is looking more appealing.

dazzanz

214 posts

Master Geek

#3004357 1-Dec-2022 21:47

timmmay:

22% increase to all rates round here in Wellington. I had a quick look at Octopus and their rates are about the same. I wonder if the big gentailers are cheaper on peak these days. We're about 20% peak, 35% shoulder, 25% night, 21% free, I expect about a 20% price rise.

I changed to Genesis recently for their EV plan and I'm in Wellington. 20c peak, 10c off peak excl gst. I believe the prices are fixed for a year also.

PolicyGuy

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#3004359 1-Dec-2022 21:55

tdgeek:

The issue is here, while the house, 2 level, is ok size wise at 283 sqm, the roof is "intricate" Harrisons told me. No large areas, plus the solar HW is in the middle of one area. We were quoted $9500 for 1.7 kW on that space. (around the tubes) I assumed that with panels these days having micro inverters, I could have a few here, a few there a few over there etc

I can PM you my street address if Google Maps would give you enough of a look?

I don't think Harrisons offer micro-inverters, or in my experience anything other than 'vanilla' solutions.
There are other suppliers who do, it may be worth shopping around for a more bespoke solution provider.

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Pay for what you use

Peak (7am-9am, 5pm-9pm) $0.4539 per kWh

Off-peak shoulder (9am-5pm, 9pm-11pm) $0.3177 per kWh

Off-peak night (11pm-7am) $0.2269 per kWh

Plus a fixed cost of $0.3400 per day

Peak

(7am-9am, 5pm-9pm)

$0.4539 per kWh

Off-peak shoulder

(9am-5pm, 9pm-11pm)

$0.3177 per kWh

Off-peak night

(11pm-7am)

$0.2269 per kWh

Plus a fixed cost of

$0.3400 per day