Powershop
I’ve blogged several times how much I enjoy having Powershop as my electricity supplier. Not just because they don’t turn the lights off if I accidentally pay late, but the fact my usage and costs have become so transparent to me.
The Herald reports:
Disgruntled consumers are increasingly likely to dump their power company.
A Consumer survey of 13,000 members in September showed they were less tolerant of poor service, with 14.3 per cent stating they had switched suppliers during the past 12 months, compared to 6.8 per cent in 2005.
Two small companies, Powershop and Energy Direct NZ, were most popular.
Powershop, which allows consumers to buy blocks of electricity from different suppliers online, was rated good or very good by 92 per cent of customers.
Energy Direct NZ was second with an 82 per cent rating.
Good to see it is not just me who is a fan.
My average bill for the year has just dipped below $50 a month. I used to pay almost that much in fixed charges I reckon.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am
David, do you want to add a disclaimer to that post, so that newer readers can be made aware that you have in the past had an active advertising relationship with powershop
[DPF: Nope because that is in the past and has nothing to do with posts where I give my opinion unprompted. The Labour Party has advertised on Kiwiblog also]
December 9th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hang on, how does Powershop save you charges on third party charges (lines company and govt levy)?
I assume it was just a throw away line but a line that was not required and in fact easy to prove your savings being the data analyst you are!
[DPF: The old supplier never gave me data which allowed me to track my monthly usage except the paper bills. But off memory I was paying over $70 a month easily.
Powershop does not charge a fixed component so low users like me do better out of it.
I also save money by buying power ahead of time at cheaper rates. Most of all, I now conserve power far more because I am more aware of my usage]
December 9th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
David I’ve found it really good as well. Low/medium power user, good insulation developing power saving habits. I think they save a lot through only working via email and on line – much cheaper than post. Price per unit more or less the same so it is the line charge that is being saved.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:55 am
yeah I’m with powershop as well and it’s absolutely brilliant. Me and my girl track our power usage every week and then figure out where we are using too much power etc. Last week our units went up a little bit even though we hadn’t done anything differently, but with a quick look in the hot water cupboard I saw that the cat had managed to pull the insulation wrapping off the cylinder.
Before powershop it might have been ages before I discovered this as you wouldn’t have had weekly data to alert you to any unusual increase in usage.
The next thing I want to see is a way for me to generate solar power at home and sell excess power back into the grid. Give people a financial reason to get solar power installed and I bet you we will never have another power crisis ever again.