Choosing new Power & Gas supplier - Powerswitch out of date?

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surfisup1000

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#271797 27-May-2020 10:19

Genesis recently kicked me off my cheap plans and put me on their most expensive plans.

I went to powerswitch to figure out the best current deal -- but, powerswitch seems out of date. After guessing the best match, Powerswitch recommended Flick Fixie for electricity, and nova for gas.

But, Powerswitch Flick price quotes certainly differ from the flick pricing on the flick website. Flick website prices are confusing --- so to be sure, I fired my last bill to flick so they could give me their pricing for the same usage and period.

PS recommended nova for gas.

Jumped over to the nova website, and they are giving a $300 joining credit (Dual fuel), and electricity prices as follows...

Unit charge 0.16969
daily charge 1.45781

The nova fixed unit charge is cheaper than the flick off peak charge.

Nova gas prices are much cheaper than Genesis too.

At this time it seems like Nova duel fuel is the best choice (unless flick comes through with a better offer). I'll call Genesis to see if they can beat them, but knowing Genesis will kick me onto a more expensive plan as soon as they get the chance.

Powerswitch is a bit outdated, it doesn't have current pricing nor does it seem to account for joining credits/gifts. I guess it gives an indication of where to look though.

DjShadow

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#2492652 27-May-2020 11:09

Nova does have a bill comparison tool on their website, doesn't ever seem to beat our Genesis bill however.

With Genesis I tend to give them a call when our contract expires and tend to get better rates out of them. If you try to switch power companies then its a safe bet they will give you a call and offer you a sharp deal

pom532

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#2492672 27-May-2020 11:35

I recently changed over to Nova from Mercury after Mercury increased their rates. Went from around 30c/KWH to around 25c/KWH (Incl GST & disc etc). Plus got an extra $100 credit.

I've never really find powerswitch etc to be that reliable on the proper prices. I use it for more of a guide to see which companies are the cheapest and then go to the individual websites myself.

geekbhaji

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#2492809 27-May-2020 13:49

Powerswitch is not very accurate these days. there are companies offering better discounts via their websites and those offers are not updated in powerswitch.

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Mahon

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#2492823 27-May-2020 14:06

Wrongly, most will offer better prices on the phone including incentive payments. I call my power supplier every year and always get an incentive payment to stay and I am a small user.

pom532

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#2492827 27-May-2020 14:16

Yeah, I usually try that with Mercury, but all they could offer was airpoints (one-off plus a better earning rate). I wonder if it's to do with the new law that made it illegal to give someone a better deal when they leave.

Hammerer

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#2492908 27-May-2020 15:38

If I want the best prices then I need to be prepared to switch suppliers. Powerswitch is great for this. My unit electricity prices have stayed pretty constant since 2010 at an average of 21.3 c/kWh. The large significant increase was at the start of this period due to GST rising to 15%.

I've also found Powerswitch to be inaccurate where there are special deals but this is a minor issue unless I have got the wrong plan. Anyway, I treat any pricing as indicative until I do my own calculation using my latest usage figures and reading the fine print in the T&Cs as a double check.

The most attractive deals often depend upon who is touting for business in my region. Right now Nova is looking for customers here so they are nearly the cheapest. They are within 1% of Electric Kiwi which has the cheapest deal and the best package (for me) for a second year in a row.

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Mehrts

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#2493003 27-May-2020 17:28

I'm also about to start looking around at the sharpest rates for both electricity and gas mains as my contract ends next month.

I'm in Palmy, and have always hated the high daily charge to be connected to the gas. As a "standard" user, I'm paying almost $1.60 a day!.. But the benefit is the low unit cost of ~6 cents/KWh.

Anyone happen to have any good/bad suggestions?

dolsen

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#2493083 27-May-2020 18:58

DjShadow:

If you try to switch power companies then its a safe bet they will give you a call and offer you a sharp deal

Saves and Win backs are now banned.

https://www.ea.govt.nz/development/work-programme/consumer-choice-competition/saves-and-win-backs/

This was due to people thinking that it wasn't fair that people that shopped around got a better deal than people that didn't bother (simplified and not really their argument). Due to that, if you now switch to try and get a better rate, you will no longer be offered one by your current retailer.

I used to switch and let them save me every year. This year, I'll have to ring them and make them give me their best offer instead ;-(

scuwp

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#2493109 27-May-2020 19:32

We used Whats my number? to find the best deal, then rang our existing provider who beat the best price without much fuss at all. It did seem a little out of date on some planes, but it was good enough to argue for a better deal.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation