Budgie vs Powershop

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Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#1302512 12-May-2015 09:47

JamesL: Looks like Budgie are closing down. Some customers are reporting being phoned and advised this, though there's been no official communication on either Facebook or otherwise.

Looks like I'll be switching power companies, I did go from Powershop to Budgie so not sure if I'll go back to Powershop..

I'll be sad if they are closing down - I have found Budgie to be fantastic. The fixed daily charge (I am a low user) seems way less than others, and the 25% prompt payment discount is also excellent. I've never had to contact them so no call centre has been no issue.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

nakedmolerat

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#1302514 12-May-2015 09:47

kiwitrc:
nakedmolerat:
Geektastic: The most I have ever managed to save on a power bill that averages around $3500 a year is about $170 and frankly it's just not worth the hassle for less than I spend in New World in a week!

I spend about $300 a month (higher in winter - one time up to $400), which equate to your average for a year. I did save about $80 a month by moving to Powershop. I remember had a call from the power company - we talk through about my calculation and he conceded that I do have better deal with powershop.

What I like about powershop is no daily fixed charge. I spend time holiday overseas up to 2 months in a year. With powershop, this equates to good savings.

What do you pay/kWh on average at Powershop?

April 30.68 cent (there was general price increase from April for south auckland)
March 28.5 cent
Feb 24.20 cent
January 21.69 cent
December 19.42 cent

When I am on holiday - only the router, alarm and security camera are left on. It draws about 2.5 unit a day.

I did calculate Flick - but still Powershop is better for me given that there is no fixed daily charge.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

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#1302611 12-May-2015 10:58

nakedmolerat:
kiwitrc:
nakedmolerat:
Geektastic: The most I have ever managed to save on a power bill that averages around $3500 a year is about $170 and frankly it's just not worth the hassle for less than I spend in New World in a week!

I spend about $300 a month (higher in winter - one time up to $400), which equate to your average for a year. I did save about $80 a month by moving to Powershop. I remember had a call from the power company - we talk through about my calculation and he conceded that I do have better deal with powershop.

What I like about powershop is no daily fixed charge. I spend time holiday overseas up to 2 months in a year. With powershop, this equates to good savings.

What do you pay/kWh on average at Powershop?

April 30.68 cent (there was general price increase from April for south auckland)
March 28.5 cent
Feb 24.20 cent
January 21.69 cent
December 19.42 cent

When I am on holiday - only the router, alarm and security camera are left on. It draws about 2.5 unit a day.

I did calculate Flick - but still Powershop is better for me given that there is no fixed daily charge.

Yeah very difficult to calculate as it depends on time of year, actual usage (Flick seems to be getting cheaper as we head into winter), high/low user, day/night etc. I have Powershop for a holiday place but Flick would be cheaper if I could get a low user connection there ( I cant because its not my main residence).

As an indication my last Flick bill worked out an average of 13.66c/kWh (mix of night/day so just an average) and line charges of $1.86/day so if you use a bit of power then its pretty good. Quick and dirty calculation for a week Flick was $29.97 and Powershop would have cost me around $37.31, but you would really need a whole years worth of power to get an accurate figure.

nakedmolerat

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#1302725 12-May-2015 13:20

Where are you? I don't think the price is that low for Auckland region.

kiwitrc

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#1302752 12-May-2015 13:34

Welington, pricing here https://www.flickelectric.co.nz/fees/#new-pricing

abd

7 posts

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#1314036 29-May-2015 12:17

JamesL: FWIW I just switched to Energy Direct http://www.energydirectnz.co.nz/ - they're owned by Trustpower

Their website is terrible but the pricing works out to be $3 more expensive than Budgie on my last power bill.

I just need fuss free power with gets paid by direct debit every month. I don't care for scheduling power use or buying power in advance which is what made Budgie appealing in the first place.

Thanks for the recommendation. Also switching from Budgie and I was initially put off Energy Direct by their web site which manages to create the impression they still only supply power to Wanganui!

wsnz

649 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1314514 30-May-2015 10:33

EnergyDirectNZ have been retailing outside of the Wanganui region for more than a decade now (SkyCity are still a customer of theirs). We've been with them for the last four years and have found during our annual power/gas pricing reviews that dual-energy pricing has been competitive against the other power companies, including against their own parent company!

Personally, we'll only change provider if savings are greater than 5-10% and it doesn't involve us having to actively devote time to managing the account.

The website is shocking, but according to EnergyDirectNZ when we joined, there was going to be some major upgrades of the website that included online billing etc, but all went mysteriously silent until it emerged that the WDC had been negotiating with Trustpower to purchase the retail side of the business. The major advantage Trustpower gained was the ability to retail gas.

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abd

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#1314550 30-May-2015 12:02

wsnz: EnergyDirectNZ have been retailing outside of the Wanganui region for more than a decade now (SkyCity are still a customer of theirs). We've been with them for the last four years and have found during our annual power/gas pricing reviews that dual-energy pricing has been competitive against the other power companies, including against their own parent company! Personally, we'll only change provider if savings are greater than 5-10% and it doesn't involve us having to actively devote time to managing the account.

The website is shocking, but according to EnergyDirectNZ when we joined, there was going to be some major upgrades of the website that included online billing etc, but all went mysteriously silent until it emerged that the WDC had been negotiating with Trustpower to purchase the retail side of the business. The major advantage Trustpower gained was the ability to retail gas.

Thanks for the feedback. Energy Direct do actually sound good but I'm going to give Flick a whirl until either they get swallowed up by one of the sharks or the lakes run dry and spot prices go through the roof. One of the good things about the Flick model is that in addition to getting cheap prices overnight for time-shifting activities such as dishwasher and washing machine, their prices in the middle of the day dip down as well.

Point taken about not wanting to have to actively manage the account. Guaranteed pricing does have its advantages.

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