Spendbank.com lowers cost of NZ power

Added by on February 26, 2012

Spendbank.com, says the long wait for cheaper power is over with its new service that brings people together to get lower prices on daily costs of living including NZ power.

Many recent articles in publications like the New Zealand Herald suggest that New Zealanders have been overcharged by as much as $4.3 billion over the past six years, which works out to $1,000 for every man, woman, and child in New Zealand.

New Zealanders pay far more for electricity that their Australian neighbors, according to an article in the New Zealand Herald. The article, called “Power costs on the rise for kiwis”, published on January 22 2012, said Australians paid an average of 14.83 cents/kwh while customers in New Zealand paid between 22.7 cents/kwh to 24.97 cents/kwh – a difference of about 68%. Americans pay roughly 16.04 cents/kwh and residents in the UK pay an average of 27.58 cents/kwh.

Even food prices are higher for New Zealanders. An article in the New Zealand Herald, “Food, glorious food – but what a price” published on January 29 2012, quotes a frequent traveller, “We spent HK$36 for two burgers and two lots of french fries in Hong Kong, that’s about US$5. In New Zealand, those same burgers sell for $5.20 apiece.”

The article continued, “New Zealanders faced bigger food bills than many of their overseas counterparts,” in Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and South Africa.

The founder of Spendbank.com said, “I believe I have come up with a solution to get cheaper power in New Zealnad by cutting out the unnecessary and additional cost that have been added to the cost of power.”

The Electricity Industry Participation Code administered by the Electricity Authority (NZ), which was established in November 2010 to replace the Electricity Commission, regulates New Zealand’s electricity market. The New Zealand electricity market is split into the following areas: administration and market clearing, regulation, generation, transmission, distribution and retailing.

In New Zealand, there are five power generating companies: Meridian Energy, Contact Energy, Genesis Power, Mighty River Power, and TrustPower; there are also several smaller companies that generate electricity including WEL Networks, NZ Windfarms, NZ Energy, MainPower and Top Energy.

Electricity retailers, who sell power to end consumers, include Bay of Plenty Electricity, Bosco Connect, Contact Energy, Empower, Energy Direct, Energy Online, Genesis Power, Just Energy, King Country Energy, Mercury Energy, Meridian Energy, Nova Energy, Powershop, Todd Energy, Simply Energy, Mighty River Power, and TrustPower.

In New Zealand, the yearly electricity cost in a typical home is about $1,500 for a medium sized household. Most households use about 33% of their power for water heating, followed by heating at 22% of the total power a household consumes. Power use in the kitchen represents about 21% of total electricity use in a home, followed by a combination of laundry, lighting, and other uses at 24%. Most experts agree many consumers could see savings by lowering their hot water heater’s thermostat, wrapping the hot water cylinder and hot-water pipes to save about 10% per year, and check for and fix leaky faucets. Experts also say homeowners can save on heating, the second-largest part of most people’s electricity bills, by insulating their homes and sealing out draughts.

Other experts say consolidating work in the kitchen can help save on power costs too. For example, says one expert, try to cook all of your food at once instead of spacing out dishes, this takes advantage of the fact that your stove or oven is already hot, and avoids having to reheat the stove or oven for each dish. Using small appliances, like single cup coffee makers, can also help save power since, according to experts, only the power necessary to make one cup of coffee gets used and is used for a very short time compared to heating a pot of water on the stove.

Spendbank.com says it believes more savings are available.

In an effort to cut out the unnecessary and additional cost that have been added to the cost of power, the founder approached some New Zealand power companies. Some, the founder says, were not receptive to the idea of a group of consumers – as many as 50,000 – buying power at a discounted rate, saying that a discounted rate would lead to losses on very small margins. Other New Zealand Power companies that the founder approached where more receptive: one welcomed the innovation and shared a similar view that reducing their major operating expenses may lower the cost of New Zealand power.

One New Zealand power company said, according to the founder of Spendbank.com, that a group of highly paid consultants might be able to figure out if anything could be done to lower the cost of New Zealand power. The founder of Spendbank.com said, “Not paying for those expensive consultants is a great way to start saving money and maybe lower the cost of power.”

The founder of Spendbank.com also found it strange that a major New Zealand beer costs $16 in New Zealand, where it is produced. The same beer, sold in the U.S. – over 10,000 km away from New Zealand – costs just $6, said the founder of Spendbank.com.

“Enough is enough – we want to see the cost of living be more affordable for New Zealanders, and Spendbank.com brings together like minded people – as many as 50,000 people – to get a lower price for New Zealand power. Consumers have the power to make a difference by joining forces we can all save money” said the founder of Spendbank.com.

Find out more about lowering the cost of power in New Zealand by visiting Spendbank.com