Kiwification

photo credit: Atli Harðarson

A groundbreaking discovery! In New Zealand, you can pick and choose your power company, as well as the rate you pay!

Yesterday I received a letter in my postbox from “Contact Energy Limited”.

“Contact us or we’ll shut your power off”

The letter basically said “Hello new occupant. Contact us within 7 days or we’ll shut your power off (for safety reasons).”

Confused, I questioned my local “flock” of Kiwis, who enlightened me to the fact that in New Zealand, there are multiple power companies who can supply you with electricity.

(For those of you thinking, “duh!”, we South Africans have been stuck with Eskom, the aging, frail, state-run incumbent, for longer than I’ve been alive.)

Swamped with options

Given the choice of power companies, and fee structures offered by those companies, I was now swamped with options.

After some research on Consumer Guide NZ, I discovered that “Trust Power” was voted “most satisfactory” by New Zealanders, and also (co-incidentally) had the estimated cheapest rates for our electricity requirements. (Two occupants, bulk of consumption in the evenings, electronic billing and direct-debit payments).

I visited their website in an attempt to sign up, but was rebuffed by their fancy click-your-location-on-the-map system, which told me that their services weren’t available in Napier, Hawkes Bay.

Well-informed and responsive

Undaunted (since Consumer Guide said they are available in Napier), I called Trust Power, spoke to “Sam”, an automated voice-recognition assistant, who put me through to Savonne.

Savonne was well-informed and responsive, she told me that services to older houses in Napier had only recently become available. She emailed me pricing information, requested one or two details from me, and held my hand through the process. Trust Power will send me bills via email, and will arrange handover from letter-sending Contact Energy.

I’m now going to be paying $0.30 per day just for the electricity connection, and an additional $0.17 / unit thereafter. (Low usage criteria, after prompt-payment discount, and excluding GST)

Electricity in New Zealand is still painfully expensive

Electricity in New Zealand is still painfully expensive, but at least I have the option to choose my poison, and I think I’ve chosen the best organized and most efficient power company.