Frank and Ecotricity brands to be "merged" into Genesis,

Forums › Off topic › Frank and Ecotricity brands to be "merged" into Genesis,

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#3383840 14-Jun-2025 06:41

KiwiSurfer:

What makes me wary of Powershop is I have no way of know what prices I'd be paying.

When I put in my address in their website they show me only the Time-Of-Use pricing which is not ideal as unfourtuantely our househouse usage is much more suited to flat-rate pricing. While they do offer flat-rate pricing, to see that their website tells me to look it up in a linked PDF that seem to show generic prices in my lines company's area rather than automatically calculating it for me. Is Powershop that bad at IT that their website can't calculate this automatically -- other retailers can!

It also bugs me they change their prices each month. I wrote my own script to calculate the prices (including different prices depending on the hour and day of the week) for most retailers. Since almost everyone else just updates their prices annually instead of monthly -- PowerShop was the only one I didn't bother to include in my script as it wasn't worth the effort to add the logic for also calculating different prices depending on the month of the year.

But now that Frank is dumping us, I am considering the option of giving Powershop a go for a few months. As I know what prices I'd pay with other retailers I could feed in say 3 months worth of usage data into my script and compare the powershop total for 3 months with what my scriopt says I'd have paid with the traditional retailers. But then again we're just going into the winter months and even Frank's current pricing is decent enough that I might just stay until they shift me over to Gensis and at that point I could just stay and see if their free power hours (or whatever they offer) is enough to offset the extra costs.

im in the same boat, powershop looks like the best alternative, but i too am weary.

did you see the rate card for your local area? https://www.powershop.co.nz/our-rates/

rhy7s

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#3383847 14-Jun-2025 08:58

acsylaa:

DjShadow:

I’m in the process of getting Solar installed and was considering a jump to ecotricity for the better buy back rate, hopefully Genesis will improve the current offering

I looked at alot of companies for power after Frank was looking at hiking the rated from .90c to 1.20 per day and then increase the import rate to i think .26c per KW and still only offer .11c buy back, also the way they worked out the GST on the buyback and import was not right from what i could work out.

I ended up going with https://poweredge.nz/power-shield-best-solar-export-rates/ these guys, im now paying .60c per day and .29c import but im now getting .20c export, so far its been really good, but will see how much i can export in summer with the 30 panels i have.

For us (in Northland) the PowerEdge quote we received is $4.117 daily, $0.30015 night (11pm-7am), $0.37375 day, $0.20 export. So, not competitive now but might be at the end of the 3 year fixed price contract.

MurrayM

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#3385047 17-Jun-2025 12:44

KiwiSurfer:

I might just stay until they shift me over to Gensis and at that point I could just stay and see if their free power hours (or whatever they offer) is enough to offset the extra costs.

I've been with Genesis for about 6 months and during that time I've had two Power Shouts (that's their scheme for handing out free power). A little bit underwhelming IMHO, I certainly wouldn't move to Genesis for their free power offering when others give you free power much more often.

Aucklandjafa

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#3388578 1-Jul-2025 11:16

Is anyone else having issues with Genesis' website/portal being punishingly slow?

acetone

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#3388583 1-Jul-2025 11:39

So it seems the Genesis "power shots" aren't worth it.
For other people in Auckland, I am keen to know where other people are moving to.
I think I will give Powershop a try.

Ragnor

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#3388666 1-Jul-2025 14:15

Powershop is just Meridian, their plan details in power switch are extremely sparse/opaque because of the whole power packs thing - so hard to tell.

Correct me if I'm wrong but looks like a lot of monthly/weekly micro management?

https://www.powershop.co.nz/help/shop-for-power/#how-to-maximise-your-savings-through-the-shop

Other than that, sadly everything is more expensive than my current Frank rates unless you're willing to micro manage time of use (which I am not currently).

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JayADee

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#3388682 1-Jul-2025 15:47

I ended up switching to Genesis on their 12 month contract. I’m not waiting to be automatically moved over.

Alphaturkey

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#3393816 14-Jul-2025 13:46

Quick update on my situation for those that were interested.

Firstly, appreciate everyone's comments regarding UDL - I was unaware they were anything more than an industry led kangaroo court. I now see they should be better than this, so will give them a try next time if required.

As I mentioned, I'd already logged a DT claim and paid the money so wanted that process to play itself out. About 3 days before the hearing, I was called by a "Resolutions Specialist" from Genesis who was the first person to genuinely understand my concerns and at least try to explain things. The reason for the inability of Genesis to offer the same pricing was that it was a different product - my previous house was on a controlled plan, whereas the new house is entirely uncontrolled. They expressed surprise and disappointment that the 6+ CSRs I emailed regarding this that none of them had bothered to try and explain this. They was also happy to waive the so called "break" fees if I wanted to leave.

In the end though I ended up staying with Genesis, as in the meantime, a lot of the better pricing I had found previously has degraded into equivalence. Also annoyingly, my new house has issues with smart meter connectivity issues which greatly restricts retailers who I sign up with.

mattwnz

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#3393931 14-Jul-2025 16:12

Alphaturkey:

Also annoyingly, my new house has issues with smart meter connectivity issues which greatly restricts retailers who I sign up with.

NZs so called smart meters are rubbish compared to what they have in the UK. You can measure real time usage over there. IMO our electricity market is a complete mess due to the Gen retailers dominance, and the government are reluctant to do much about it being 51% shareholders who generate a lot of money from them.

Behodar

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#3394627 16-Jul-2025 13:49

Genesis, among others, is going to have to offer peak/off-peak plans next year.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/567062/electricity-authority-announces-new-rules-for-big-energy-retailers

trig42

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#3394631 16-Jul-2025 14:38

Not quite on topic, but our current retailer (Flick) is being absorbed into Meridian shortly.

I'm doing the comparisons again, and for my usage pattern, which is on average about 170kWh off peak and 70kWh peak per week, Genesis comes out best for us, and not a lot different to what we're paying on Flick.
We will end up paying a bit more, as Flick's off-peak is 9pm-7am and 11am-4pm. Genesis (on their EV plan) is only off-peak 9pm-7am.

I guess the only 'bonus' with Genesis is the ChargeNet tie-up (EVerywhere). Knowing how it goes, that will probably disappear at some point to :(

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mattwnz

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#3394632 16-Jul-2025 15:33

Behodar:

Genesis, among others, is going to have to offer peak/off-peak plans next year.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/567062/electricity-authority-announces-new-rules-for-big-energy-retailers

Won't they just pump up on peak prices to pay for this. The change to the removal of low power users daily rate basically became a cash grab, and now low power users bills are substantially higher. Many of these being low income people. Supposedly the unit rate was suppose to drop, but it never did with Frank energy.

richms

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#3394636 16-Jul-2025 15:52

mattwnz:

Won't they just pump up on peak prices to pay for this. The change to the removal of low power users daily rate basically became a cash grab, and now low power users bills are substantially higher. Many of these being low income people. Supposedly the unit rate was suppose to drop, but it never did with Frank energy.

That is exactly what they should be doing to get the usage moved so it is no longer a peak.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#3394639 16-Jul-2025 16:19

richms:

mattwnz:

Won't they just pump up on peak prices to pay for this. The change to the removal of low power users daily rate basically became a cash grab, and now low power users bills are substantially higher. Many of these being low income people. Supposedly the unit rate was suppose to drop, but it never did with Frank energy.

That is exactly what they should be doing to get the usage moved so it is no longer a peak.

Potentially yes. But isn't it also artificially increasing on peak prices, when what is actually needed is extra capacity which they haven't kept up with. Some people don't have much of a choice to use much of their power in on peak times, as that it when they need to heat their home . Off peak is often when they are sleeping or working. On peak is cold evenings and mornings. Not unless more businesses changing their working hours.

KiwiSurfer

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#3396861 24-Jul-2025 18:49

Got an email from Frank 22nd July approx 9pm announcing I would be part of the first batch to migrate across.

Hi there,

An important reminder on Frank Energy

We recently let you know that Frank Energy will be absorbed into the Genesis retail offering. Frank Energy has been part of the Genesis family since 2022. We've had a blast serving you with our straightforward, no-nonsense approach. But the energy market is changing and we now need to focus our efforts on the Genesis brand. Find out more here.

We know change can be a bit of a hassle, but we're here to make it as smooth as possible for you.

What this means for you?

The time has come to start considering your options and decide whether to transfer to Genesis or make the switch to another energy provider. For your home, an easy way to shop around for deals and offers is to check out Powerswitch.

What happens if you don't switch?

If you haven't switched to a new retailer before 22 August, 2025 we will begin transferring your account to Genesis on its Flexi-Plan which has no fixed term. This means that you can keep your options open should you choose to switch to another retailer later. Genesis standard terms and electricity rates will apply. The rates can be found in the table below.

To make the switch easy, we will transfer your contact and some of your property details to Genesis. However, some of your information (like payment details) won't be transferred and these will need to be set up with Genesis directly.

To ensure a smooth transition, you'll be among the first group of Frank customers to be moved to Genesis. Other Frank customers will follow in later phases.

We're here to help

If you need support, you can chat with us online, or please refer to our FAQs.

Cheers from Frank

We acknowledge that this change may require some effort on your part and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. As we move into the next chapter with Genesis, we're focused on making the transition as smooth and straightforward as possible for you. Thank you for being part of the Frank Energy journey. It's been a pleasure having you with us.

All the best,
The Team at Frank

Genesis electricity pricing

ICP Number

Supply Address

[redacted]

Current rate*

New rate*

Daily Charge ($/day)

1.20

1.20

Uncontrolled ($/kWh)

0.26

0.30

*All prices are rounded to two decimal places and exclude GST.
New prices take effect from 22 August 2025.

Same daily charge but uncontroled going up ~4c/kWh. I note with interest they round to 2dp for some reason even though actual prices have 4dp -- I hope it's not them trying to pull the wool over people eyes.

Decided to pull the plug and switch to Powershop. Put the request through 9:30pm same day (22nd). Business days of 23rd and 24th have both gone and still not yet switched over.

Out of interest if any Powershop customers in this thread -- is there an option in the app to switch to anytime pricing (rather than their TOU plan which they helpfull select by default even though it's not the best price for me) or should I email them to request this? I was surprised this option was not included in the signup process.

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