Electricity plan shopping

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546 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3069968 1-May-2023 13:24

jsnz:

@HarmLessSolutions

Yes it's a good point.

Contact actually has the worst solar FIT but we will have a 20.5Kwh battery to maximise self consumption. In summer we should be able to cover near 100% of our electricity with the solar and battery. In Autumn through to Spring we will be using electricity from the grid but I plan to charge the battery from the grid in the free period. I'm hoping we can pump around 12Kwh into the battery most nights. We will give it a run for a few months and then see where we end up and consider where we go from there.

Also worth including a Paladin power diverter into your PV setup, assuming you've got a HWC. We haven't grid fed our HWC since fitting one and the ROI on the Paladin would be impressive as well as improving our PV viability substantially.

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

jsnz

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3069985 1-May-2023 14:00

@HarmLessSolutions

Thanks I will have a look into that, do you have a ballpark figure of what the unit cost?

HarmLessSolutions

546 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3069986 1-May-2023 14:11

jsnz:

@HarmLessSolutions

Thanks I will have a look into that, do you have a ballpark figure of what the unit cost?

Their price increased around the time we purchased (at the old price) to somewhere just north of $1,000.

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

boosacnoodle

651 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3069999 1-May-2023 14:50

HarmLessSolutions:

Their price increased around the time we purchased (at the old price) to somewhere just north of $1,000.

Ouch! That's pretty steep. You could get a switchbot for much less. Moreoever, I'm not sure I'd want something switching my hot water cylinder off and on 50 times a second - can't be good for the life of it.

HarmLessSolutions

546 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3070050 1-May-2023 15:03

boosacnoodle:

HarmLessSolutions:

Their price increased around the time we purchased (at the old price) to somewhere just north of $1,000.

Ouch! That's pretty steep. You could get a switchbot for much less. Moreoever, I'm not sure I'd want something switching my hot water cylinder off and on 50 times a second - can't be good for the life of it.

Paladin's developer @Terciops is a Geekzone member so best to get the info on the units direct from source. Also a thread from a while back with discussion on same.

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

catdog

101 posts

Master Geek

#3070767 3-May-2023 10:49

You're correct about needing to game the free hours in order to make the savings. Unless you make the effort or have an EV to charge, the latest round of peak/offpeak or free hour plans don't stack up compared to flat rate.

That being said I was surprised by Contact's dream charge plan having such a low-user peak-time rate of 24c (incl. GST) - so for us the electricity is still relatively cheap even when not making an effort (daily is 69c, which is similar to all others now too).

I'm on Contact and find that for us gaming the 3 hours works out significantly cheaper than the other options. Hot water cylinder on a timer (which is typically about 1/3 of average power usage), and at 9pm just turn on dishwasher etc. along with the dryer in winter.

Contact (along with Meridian, Mercury) have increased their daily rate to 90c+GST for new customers according to this article, so I'm expecting that to come through soon as an existing customer (I'm not on a fixed plan):

https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/131804323/most-power-firms-quick-to-raise-fixed-daily-charge-to-more-than-a-dollar-a-day

Wheelbarrow01

1441 posts

Uber Geek

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Chorus

#3075680 13-May-2023 00:55

MBIE states “ Electricity companies are not expected to increase their profits as a result of the removal of Low User Tariffs. As the low fixed daily charges increase during the phase-out, the actual rate paid for electricity used is expected to decrease”.

Insert hysterical laughter here…

Just got notified that my daily rate is increasing by 30c.
To “compensate” for this, my retailer is raising my kWh price by around 2c.

So the change is working exactly as Minister Woods intended, benefiting those who need it and nothing to see here. Cool and normal.

Just kidding, for the kiwi battler, it’s just another:

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

mattwnz

19378 posts

Uber Geek

#3079644 25-May-2023 16:29

Wheelbarrow01: MBIE states “ Electricity companies are not expected to increase their profits as a result of the removal of Low User Tariffs. As the low fixed daily charges increase during the phase-out, the actual rate paid for electricity used is expected to decrease”.

Insert hysterical laughter here…

IMO the opposition should be taking them to task on this, because it doesn't match the tables and explanations. Frank energy has done the same, increased both the daily rate and the unit rate, even though the unit rate should have dropped slightly to compensate for the increase in daily rate. Seems to have been used as an opportunity to do a price increase. IMO it is just another way to increase the price for everyone and make extra profits. I do have shares in some power companies which does offset this somewhat, but not everyone owns shares in power companies unless possibly indirectly via kiwisaver.

HelloThere

135 posts

Master Geek

#3079657 25-May-2023 18:16

Wheelbarrow01: Just got notified that my daily rate is increasing by 30c. To “compensate” for this, my retailer is raising my kWh price by around 2c.

Sounds like what Genesis Energy did and when I contacted them to see if they would match Mercury they weren't interested. Thanks Megan for increasing my power.

tdgeek

28596 posts

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#3079658 25-May-2023 18:33

Im with EK, my last bill is still Low User Charges. Perhaps competition will rule?

HarmLessSolutions

546 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3079660 25-May-2023 18:39

Install PV, choose the power provider with the best export tariff and then smile every time the supply tariffs rise. Works for us 😀

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

tdgeek

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#3079665 25-May-2023 19:04

HarmLessSolutions:

Install PV, choose the power provider with the best export tariff and then smile every time the supply tariffs rise. Works for us 😀

I cannot. Despite an up market 283sqm home we cannot. The roof is intricate Im told by one Solar provider. I can get 1.7kW for $9500, no thanks. We have Solar HW which is excellent and very cost effective.

eonsim

261 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3079729 26-May-2023 08:37

tdgeek:

HarmLessSolutions:

Install PV, choose the power provider with the best export tariff and then smile every time the supply tariffs rise. Works for us 😀

I cannot. Despite an up market 283sqm home we cannot. The roof is intricate Im told by one Solar provider. I can get 1.7kW for $9500, no thanks. We have Solar HW which is excellent and very cost effective.

Worth asking a number of companies others may have different views. Probably not relevant but if you have a large external garage/shed/carport etc they can potentially install solar there. Another option if you have a large section is to get a ground mounted system.

Delorean

511 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3095025 26-Jun-2023 11:21

I have just been shopping around for a new retailer.

I am in Selwyn and so far Flick and Powershop seem to have the best rates. Any experience with either of these companies?

Lias

5226 posts

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#3123804 5-Sep-2023 11:48

Had a nosy as Octopus recently put my prices up slightly.. still drastically cheaper than anyone else.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

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