Solar options for home in 2022

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#3495123 25-May-2026 14:46

fastbike:

We are on a fixed Meridian plan until Oct 2029: 104c per day, 17c export, 18.4c offpeak (9pm-7am) import, 31c peak (7am-9pm) import.

When did you lock those rates in?

fastbike

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#3495124 25-May-2026 14:52

Paul1977:

fastbike:

We are on a fixed Meridian plan until Oct 2029: 104c per day, 17c export, 18.4c offpeak (9pm-7am) import, 31c peak (7am-9pm) import.

When did you lock those rates in?

Early Oct 2024. Just before we installed solar. I asked the sales rep how long the offer was valid - she said they were under current review so I pulled the trigger even though they were slightly higher than the Mercury plan I was on and the solar installation was still not finalised.

I got lucky.

Otautahi Christchurch

Paul1977

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#3495125 25-May-2026 15:04

fastbike:

Early Oct 2024. Just before we installed solar. I asked the sales rep how long the offer was valid - she said they were under current review so I pulled the trigger even though they were slightly higher than the Mercury plan I was on and the solar installation was still not finalised.

I got lucky.

That explains why your rates are way better than anything I can find now!

mark0x01

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#3495175 25-May-2026 16:04

[I think the line charges depend on your location e.g. here in Christchurch (Orion) they seem to be about half of what people are paying 20km away in Kaiapoi (Mainpower).]

Also could depend on the Retailer and what they "put" under daily charges.

For Kaiapoi, Frank is $1.67325, Ecotricity $1.3821 per day (inc. GST)

Mainpower publish their network charges on their web site.

For a Low User, daily fixed $0.6477605 (includes rebate) , then per kWh $0.190463 both inc. GST

cshwone

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#3495185 25-May-2026 16:25

mark0x01:

[I think the line charges depend on your location e.g. here in Christchurch (Orion) they seem to be about half of what people are paying 20km away in Kaiapoi (Mainpower).]

Also could depend on the Retailer and what they "put" under daily charges.

For Kaiapoi, Frank is $1.67325, Ecotricity $1.3821 per day (inc. GST)

Mainpower publish their network charges on their web site.

For a Low User, daily fixed $0.6477605 (includes rebate) , then per kWh $0.190463 both inc. GST

Jeez, here in the Wairarapa the best you can do is pay double those rates for both line cost and kWH as a Low User. There is something badly wrong with the whole system.

LightbulbNeil

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#3495189 25-May-2026 16:30

cshwone:

mark0x01:

[I think the line charges depend on your location e.g. here in Christchurch (Orion) they seem to be about half of what people are paying 20km away in Kaiapoi (Mainpower).]

Also could depend on the Retailer and what they "put" under daily charges.

For Kaiapoi, Frank is $1.67325, Ecotricity $1.3821 per day (inc. GST)

Mainpower publish their network charges on their web site.

For a Low User, daily fixed $0.6477605 (includes rebate) , then per kWh $0.190463 both inc. GST

Jeez, here in the Wairarapa the best you can do is pay double those rates for both line cost and kWH as a Low User. There is something badly wrong with the whole system.

I agree. I just don't understand the widespread accross area's of the Country. There's a lot that is not making any sense at the moment. So I'm going to get a battery soon , so by the time I'm retired its mostly paid for. It also gives me time to evaluate if we can actually go off grid as well. When line charges get to $4 per day for supply , I want to be not connected to the local grid at all.

fastbike

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#3495190 25-May-2026 16:31

Interesting ...

For my neighbour in suburban Christchurch, Meridian shows this

For a relative's address in Kaiapoi they show this

The daily charge is around double !

Otautahi Christchurch

mark0x01

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#3495230 25-May-2026 19:24

There is a big difference in daily charges between Low User and Standard User, which is offset by the higher kWh charges.

The Mainpower Standard User is $3.1784505 per day and $0.75072 per kWh (both inc. GST)

Some retailers like ecotricity break down the charges so you can see where it goes.

ecoSOLAR

Daily fixed network $3.1785

Admin & climate positive
certiﬁcation: $0.598

Metering fee:$0.4025

Anytime:$0.1955

Uncontrolled - network:
$0.0403 /kWh

EA levy:
$0.0018 /kWh

fastbike

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#3495232 25-May-2026 19:33

mark0x01:

There is a big difference in daily charges between Low User and Standard User, which is offset by the higher kWh charges.

The Mainpower Standard User is $3.1784505 per day and $0.75072 per kWh (both inc. GST)

Some retailers like ecotricity break down the charges so you can see where it goes.

ecoSOLAR

Daily fixed network $3.1785

Admin & climate positive
certiﬁcation: $0.598

Metering fee:$0.4025

Anytime:$0.1955

Uncontrolled - network:
$0.0403 /kWh

EA levy:
$0.0018 /kWh

Interesting break down.

Manpower are a lines company though so don't do retail plans iirc.

The two Meridian screen shots were for std user.

Low user is being phased out.

Otautahi Christchurch

Stu1

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#3495241 25-May-2026 20:46

Why are batteries so expensive here, this is depressing seeing the cost in AU

fastbike

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#3495343 25-May-2026 23:19

You do realise there is a battery subsidy scheme in the lucky country.

Kiwis elected a backwards facing junta in 2023, so we are stuck with current policies until the policies change.

Maybe that will be the current govt figuring out that solar/batteries is more secure than Hormuz, or maybe it will be change of govt.

Meanwhile there are alternatives for battery configurations.

Otautahi Christchurch

Paul1977

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#3495456 26-May-2026 10:23

Now that I'm generating, I'm keeping a spreadsheet of how different plans compare to what I'm currently on. Also what I'm saving compared to not having solar.

I'm on an anytime rate as our heaviest usage is in peak times, with no way to meaningfully time shift much of it. No battery or EV, so obtaining a cheaper off-peak at the cost of a higher peak rate didn't make sense for us.

May will be first full month, and we are on track to save $125-$130 off a $325ish bill. Does that sound reasonable for this time of year? It would make a long payback period if that was the average monthly savings, but I would hope we'll do substantially better in in Spring and Summer.

timmmay

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#3495475 26-May-2026 11:42

Paul1977:

May will be first full month, and we are on track to save $125-$130 off a $325ish bill. Does that sound reasonable for this time of year? It would make a long payback period if that was the average monthly savings, but I would hope we'll do substantially better in in Spring and Summer.

Sounds about right, depending on capacity. In winter we save about that much per month, in summer we get bills less than $50 most months even though we use air conditioning quite a bit - less usage, more generation, much more export.

Stu1

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#3495484 26-May-2026 12:28

fastbike:

You do realise there is a battery subsidy scheme in the lucky country.

Kiwis elected a backwards facing junta in 2023, so we are stuck with current policies until the policies change.

Maybe that will be the current govt figuring out that solar/batteries is more secure than Hormuz, or maybe it will be change of govt.

Meanwhile there are alternatives for battery configurations.

isn’t the price excluding state and federal subsidies?

Paul1977

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#3495490 26-May-2026 12:40

timmmay:

Sounds about right, depending on capacity. In winter we save about that much per month, in summer we get bills less than $50 most months even though we use air conditioning quite a bit - less usage, more generation, much more export.

Our capacity is higher than yours I think - 11.76kW panels on 10kW inverter. But, of course, none of it is apples to apples. Since we use a lot of power during peak times this lessens the savings because of the differential between import and export. If we were able to do more aggressive time shifting our savings would be more.

Best day this month (3rd May) we generated 47.38kWh, worst day (21st May) only 2.55kWh.

Will be interesting to see how it averages out over a full year.

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