Time to give electricity the flick?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Time to give electricity the flick?

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109 posts

Master Geek
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#1802220 16-Jun-2017 16:19

I applied to switch from Flick to EK 8 days ago, still hasn't happened!

They definitely aren't in a hurry.

I used your referral Mattrix.

23c/kWh sounds like a steal right now.

Chis

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#1802249 16-Jun-2017 16:37

Thanks mattrix.

I've applied to move to EK and sent your referral just now.

The app looks a great idea too, so many thanks for doing that.

Castle

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Geek
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#1802487 17-Jun-2017 08:41

When I switched from Energy Online to Flick in April it took the full 10 business days (2 weeks) to switch over. That's why I'm a bit reluctant to switch away right now. It could take another two weeks, in which time the climate could have changed and the spot prices come back down.

timmmay

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#1802489 17-Jun-2017 09:27

I've filled out the EK payment form, I guess now I wait for Flick to authorise the transfer. I don't really mind if it takes a day or 10 days, though sooner is better. I'm not changing for a few days, I'm tired of watching prices. If the floating price stabilises I might change back at the end of winter. If prices are roughtly comparable, and I do well with the free hour of power, I'll stay.

I can schedule hot water, two heat pumps, clothes drier, and dishwasher to start at roughly the same time. That's a load of around 13.4KWh, which at 18c/kwh comes to around $80/month. I hope running them all at the same time doesn't cause problems for my connection.

Wiggum

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#1802491 17-Jun-2017 09:40

Maybe its time the topic title was changed. May I suggest, "Time to give Flick the flick"?

I have been over 30cents per unit for a while now. Often at 35cents per unit.Currently I'm at 33.8cents per unit, but have most things off right now as its a nice sunny day in Kapiti.

The constant notifications are really annoying, and I am starting to wonder if its really worth having the notification at all. I don't really want a notification for when prices reach 35cents and wish there was a way to customise it (maybe to over 40cents). Often when prices are high its not possible to switch off anyway, ie in the middle of cooking, heating the house etc..

michaelmurfy

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#1802500 17-Jun-2017 10:12

I've just got the payment form - remember also, they take $4.99 from your account on signup.

@mattrix I've sent them a support message with your referral link. Looks like you're not going to pay for power for a bit :)

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

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timmmay

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#1802510 17-Jun-2017 10:27

I sent a message regarding the referral to @mattrix too.

Aredwood

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#1802511 17-Jun-2017 10:28

I guess that I will be the only Flick customer soon, with the way things are going. Mainly because I get an extra discount on my lines fees, due to no other power company offering peak/offpeak rates in Auckland. (that I know of)

Have been doing some more research into solar system pricing. As last time I checked prices, I hadn't factored that the solar would reduce my power usage enough for me to drop to low user pricing plans. Which would then further increase the returns from the solar.

Kind of kicking myself that I didn't decide to go ahead with a solar and battery system at the beginning of this year. I could have been sitting here quite smug right now. Even though I would be unlikely to be making a saving after taking capital costs into account.

Anyone know of any grid connect solar and battery inverters available that can still deliver their full rated power to house loads even during a power cut? The biggest I have seen so far can only deliver 2000VA without grid support. And its transfer time is rated at less than 5 seconds. So no good for using it as a UPS. Non grid connect models are basicly just a big UPS that has solar added on.

Supposedly Flick Electric are close to supporting solar generation customers. I rang them up and they said that they are doing trials right now. They also added my name to a database of people who are interested in getting solar. Things would be alot more interesting if you were able to export power right now with Flick - and get paid the wholesale price for your exported power.

mattrix

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Master Geek
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#1802517 17-Jun-2017 10:44

Thanks all!
I think you'll be pretty happy with EK.

Its also quite fun seeing how much power you can use in an hour.

I'm also working on a little cheap D1 Mini Lite to measure the power at mains (CT Sensor) and send it back to NAS. Then at 11:50 each night - finds highest hour for that day and sets it. Takes the guess work out of the days where not sure what hour was highest.

michaelmurfy

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#1802519 17-Jun-2017 10:47

Aredwood:

I guess that I will be the only Flick customer soon.

I would be still a Flick customer if it wasn't for my sister (who lives with me) not understanding spot pricing. She has caused me quite a few massive bills. Also am a low user. When I priced it up I was only saving a little compared to EK I worked out I could actually save a bit more with them.

If the relationship doesn't work out well I'll be with Flick as they're still a great power company.

andrewNZ

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#1802598 17-Jun-2017 14:09

I'll be sticking with them for a bit still.

The way I see it you need to take the good with the bad. I paid 13c or less a unit for 3 months or more over summer, So it'll be a while before I'm worse off.

I could move till prices change then come back to maximise savings, but if everyone does that, flick will be gone.

easycloud

48 posts

Geek

#1802653 17-Jun-2017 17:14

Hi all, new to GZ so go easy.

Very interesting topic, I wish I'd come across that earlier. I've been with Flick for nearly 2 years and I'm equally frustrated with the last 45 days of spot prices going through the roof. I came across EK last year when some friends were encouraging us to switch but last year, my total bill with Flick was still hard to beat. In fact the EK estimator recommended I stay put.

I'm surprised to hear that their service offering might actually be genuine (last year's ads seemed a bit invasive and didn't feel trustworthy). In the end, competition in the NZ electricity market is good for all of us, and having different billing models helps cater for all our individually unique power needs.

andrewNZ: I'll be sticking with them for a bit still.

The way I see it you need to take the good with the bad. I paid 13c or less a unit for 3 months or more over summer, So it'll be a while before I'm worse off..

I think that's the noble thing to do (if there is such a thing with a power company). I would probably be doing the same. Spot prices might stabilize and the hassle of switching (even at a $50 incentive) might not be worthwhile in the long run.

On an unrelated subject, for those frustrated with the Flick notifications, I developed a lightweight web service last year when I first became a Flick customer which snatches the price from Flick (via their smartphone API) and publishes it to a locally hosted webpage at home. This way the whole family can view the price throughout the day and take action accordingly.

This approach allowed me to add GST and the daily network fees so the price I see is the price I pay. It pulls data from Flick every 10 minutes 24x7 and logs it as well for future analysis. It also allowed me to do some home automation (using cheap power relays and ESP8266 units) to shutdown power hogs like the hot water tank and the spa when certain thresholds are met.

I'm not sure if this would benefit anyone, but I'm happy to post the web server code somewhere - that is if there are still Flick customers on this thread :)

Cheers

mentalinc

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#1802657 17-Jun-2017 17:24

@easycode Please share the code ...

Please see mine for long term scraping of actual prices and usage.

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

timmmay

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#1802658 17-Jun-2017 17:24

The EK estimator suggested I stay put, but it's very close. I'm just tired of having to actively manage a utility.

TonyS071

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Inactive user

#1802662 17-Jun-2017 17:39

Yup, still some hanging in there...
Savings have been well down this last few weeks, but I see this as a long ride, and am prepared to stick on the roller coaster for a while yet. My power price right now is 30c , this has been a pattern all week. (Makes me wince when I turn the oven on...)

For everyone's info, flick were very accomodationing in reestablishing the reduced off peak charging when I asked what would be required to comply with the lines company new rules (I live in wellytown). Some readjustment of my meter so it could handle the two rates was supposed to cost me either $150? For a site visit if that was required, or $24 for a remote attempt. The remote reprogramming worked just fine, and flick didn't actually charge me anything.

So I enjoy reduced rates in the evening hours again now, along with very stringent timing for water heating. I have hot water timing tied down even tighter locally though ( I didn't want ANY heating during ANY part of the day when spikes might wipe me out). This works well for our household as there are no kids to chew up the hot water - wouldn't suit everyone.

Flicks dashboard doesn't understand the dual meter setup, so the savings are hard to visualise, but the bill spells it out.

Here is a chunk of last weeks bill to give you an idea...

Costs as charged to us (no mark-up) Units Price per unit Charge
Generation – The average spot price for the energy you used
Wholesale Electricity @ spot price. Meter 214326392_1 59 kWh 7.2717 c/kWh $4.29 Wholesale Electricity @ spot price. Meter 214326392_2 62.35 kWh 8.8725 c/kWh $5.53
$9.82

Transmission/Distribution – The charge for network company to get power to your house Network Charge - Low User All Inclusive. Meter 214326392_2
Network Charge - Low User Night. Meter 214326392_1
Network Daily Charge - Low User
62.35 kWh 59 kWh
7 days
9.29 c/kWh 1.89 c/kWh 15 c/day
$5.79 $1.12 $1.05 $7.96

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