ren1316:

 

10% bonus is on the pricing page of their web site.

 

Do you have a link for that? I'd pay ahead to get a discount.

@timmmay:

This is the page he's talking about: https://www.electrickiwi.co.nz/pricing - rates only visible once you provide an address.

If you're already with EK, you can't enter your address to get plan options/prices (get a message along the lines of 'we see you are a current EK customer'), and entering your neighbours' address may not necessarily be a reflection of what you'll pay - in my case, we have a different set-up to them, so they're not comparable.

Just use online chat to be put on the plan; but I suggest you ask what the prices will be before committing. In my case they were basically identical to what I'm already paying, so it was a no-brainer, but it does pay to check.

timmmay: Thanks, just can't see any reference to a discount for pre paying.

When you do "Calculate your Savings" there are three pricing options - I've included the Lower Hutt GST inclusive rates:

Ah I see there in the pricing calculator, thanks :)

I set it up on chat. Oddly I had to change to credit card from direct debit, which means they probably pay about 3% fees, give me 10% bonus, and I get 1% or so back on my credit card rewards point. Bit of a win for the customer, not so much for the company. I'll pay less for the same thing though, so that's a win.

timmmay:

 

I set it up on chat. Oddly I had to change to credit card from direct debit, which means they probably pay about 3% fees, give me 10% bonus, and I get 1% or so back on my credit card rewards point. Bit of a win for the customer, not so much for the company. I'll pay less for the same thing though, so that's a win.

 

I was surprised about this as well, as I thought they would charge a credit card fee if I set this up. They probably need to make it more clear on their website. But I think the calculation on the powerswitch website did factor in this 10% saving.  My power costs nearly 30 cents per kW hour, and was nearly 40 cents with my old provider, but the daily rate is less than $1, so I envy sub 20 cent pricing

Yeah, 10% is a significant discount to get, given it doesn't appear to be one of those typically offered by electricity providers (jacking prices up to simply offer a 'discount' for paying on time etc) - I say this because the rates themselves are very similar to their other plans, and it's been introduced relatively recently (certainly wasn't an option when I re-joined EK in Feb 18).

So what on earth makes it worthwhile for the company to offer such a large discount? I get that having money in advance improves up-front cash flows, but surely that's not enough of a reason?  

I just switched using the chat too. Pay an extra 1c per kWh and extra 3c per day, but it still works out cheaper overall. An extra $1 per month (daily charge) and get extra 46 kWh per $200 on the credit card for "free".

jonathan18:

 

Yeah, 10% is a significant discount to get, given it doesn't appear to be one of those typically offered by electricity providers (jacking prices up to simply offer a 'discount' for paying on time etc) - I say this because the rates themselves are very similar to their other plans, and it's been introduced relatively recently (certainly wasn't an option when I re-joined EK in Feb 18).

 

So what on earth makes it worthwhile for the company to offer such a large discount? I get that having money in advance improves up-front cash flows, but surely that's not enough of a reason?  

 

Maybe they can save a lot staffing costs by not having a phone support line etc. They do seem a good company to deal with. My only criticism is the delay in getting the power usage stats. You have to wait a day, and doesn't come in until the evening. I would like to see more upto stats. In the UK they seem to be introducing a special unit in the house that shows realtime usage all sorts of stats. Hopefully this all lasts and the company doesn't get purchased by a big player. I remember years ago when a whole lot of low cost companies started selling power, that the company we signed up to ended up getting acquired by a big player and the prices weren't as good. 

jonathan18:

 

Yeah, 10% is a significant discount to get, given it doesn't appear to be one of those typically offered by electricity providers (jacking prices up to simply offer a 'discount' for paying on time etc) - I say this because the rates themselves are very similar to their other plans, and it's been introduced relatively recently (certainly wasn't an option when I re-joined EK in Feb 18).

 

So what on earth makes it worthwhile for the company to offer such a large discount? I get that having money in advance improves up-front cash flows, but surely that's not enough of a reason?  

 

EK is small, it has chat, but it probably doesnt have acres of brick and mortar and staff to burn. The large businesses need charges to pay for that, EK is probably under that cost:revenue plateaux

10% is a large discount but they all do it. 

tdgeek:
10% is a large discount but they all do it. 

jonathan18:

tdgeek:
10% is a large discount but they all do it. 

Yes,’they all do it’, but typically off an inflated price so the final price ‘normal’ customers pay is what the retailer expected. I could be with a retailer like Contact and be eligible for multiple discounts for paying my bill on time, not receiving a paper bill etc (whatever the deals are) but, even after including all those, I’d still be paying more for my power than with EK!

My point was EK is already a reasonably priced electricity provider even with its standard plans; 10% off those reasonable prices is what is distinct and significant.

Fully agree on all points. When I got them, maybe 3 years ago, the price was 6% cheaper. Not bad. No discount, bugger. But the free hour if you done manage it would be around 12% IIRC. Manage it and its 2 to 3 x that. Now 10% for paying ahead, awesome. 

Im glad you reraised that as you and one or two others have now got that 10%. 

Considering switching from Nova - I have gas too so will still need that from somewhere else.

From what I can see it's cheaper to sign up to the 'Loyal Kiwi (one year commitment) over the 'Stay Ahead 200'.

Our heat  pump comes on at 5am, so I would probably use 5am-6am for the free hour of power, but would want the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher to kick on at 5am as well.

Question - do you all just use the built in delay start features on your appliances?

tukapa1:

 

Considering switching from Nova - I have gas too so will still need that from somewhere else.

 

From what I can see it's cheaper to sign up to the 'Loyal Kiwi (one year commitment) over the 'Stay Ahead 200'.

 

Our heat  pump comes on at 5am, so I would probably use 5am-6am for the free hour of power, but would want the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher to kick on at 5am as well.

 

Question - do you all just use the built in delay start features on your appliances?

 

We just turn them on at 9pm. Manual but it gets the last dish or clothe in. We have solar HW with a 3 period timed boost, so thats preset.

WARNING. Daylight Slavings tonight :-) , so if anyone uses timers that dont cater for that, remember to update them so your hour of power still aligns.