Word of Advice

21 May 2007

How to save money on your power bills

It’s getting cold and so an unavoidable winter battle begins between one British cold weather-sensitive flatmate and one hardened Kiwi who doesn’t seem to notice the cold.

Heaters get put on by the Brit. Heaters get turned off by the Kiwi. A delicate game of cat and mouse ensues. The Brit skulks in the hallway corridor waiting for the Kiwi to leave the house, and then as soon as the front door clicks shut he dashes to the heater, setting it to maximum heat output.

The Brit seems to be winning the battle, able to move from the lounge to the bathroom without having to don Sir Edmund Hillary-style mountain climbing clothing. That is until the power bill arrives. $440 for one month. Ouch. The Kiwi flatmate is not happy…but there could be a solution.

www.powerswitch.org.nz

Powerswitch is a free website which lets you compare your current power costs with other suppliers. The website lets you find out if you could save money by changing to another electricity supplier, or by being on a different plan.

If you’ve got your most recent power bill the Powerswitch website can provide personalised information for you and your household. The website takes the information you put in an online form, and estimates how much electricity you will use in a year. It then compares the different pricing plans and suggests the most suitable one for you.

With this information you’ll be able to make an informed choice about whether to switch power companies, change plans, or stay with your current power company or plan.

Powerswitch also gives you other useful information like how to switch to a new power provider, how to make a complaint to the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commission, tips for energy saving in your home, pricing plans, information about customer contracts, and contact details for power companies.

If you don’t have internet access at home, your local library may have internet access available for you to use.

So check out the Powerswitch website and maybe you’ll be able to save some money on your power bill. You may even be able to stop any ‘heated’ debates about the size of your power bill (sorry – pretty bad pun there).

Powerswitch is an independent service provided by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Consumers’ Institute.