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Thread ID: 66297	2006-02-17 22:56:00	Who's your electricity supplier?	Renmoo (66)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
431801	2006-02-17 22:56:00	Greetings all. Dad is thinking of making a switch from our house default electricity supplier, Mercury Energy to Genesis Energy because of long-term cost-saving options. Is it a good idea or is there something that I should be aware of? Cheers and thanks :)	Renmoo (66)
431802	2006-02-17 23:46:00	Greetings all. Dad is thinking of making a switch from our house default electricity supplier, Mercury Energy to Genesis Energy because of long-term cost-saving options. Is it a good idea or is there something that I should be aware of? Cheers and thanks :) We have just made the switch from Genesis to Mercury. Why Based on current bill Will save about $8-9 a month You have longer to pay your prompt payment discount You get another 2% discount if you pay by internet banking They do actual readings of your meter, not estimated readings like genesis do Warrick.	wmoore (6009)
431803	2006-02-18 00:03:00	Can't help with those suppliers, James, but suggest you check Consumer's website for the comparison set up some time ago for people who wanted to find out the best company for their circumstances & area. Everyone has different requirements, depending on household size & the time of day they use most electricity. I have Contact Energy in Dunedin & Trustpower in Central Otago. I'm interested in wmoore's comment about readings versus estimates - like reading how often? Both of mine do a reading every 2 months, with an estimate in between. That seems practical for them - and each has the option of householders providing another reading by phone if the estimate seems a great deal too high. (I use it if I've been away from either place long enough to make a major difference) I wouldn't expect any company nowadays to pay for sending meter readers out every month for households, as opposed to businesses. It would presumably add enough to labour costs to raise my bill... P.S. I like the idea of 2% discount for internet payments. Neither of mine do that - and that's how I pay them.	Laura (43)
431804	2006-02-18 05:15:00	Mercury do monthly meter readings as a matter of policy, most others do two-monthly readings (or four-monthly in remote rural areas). However the regulations require one real reading (or reasonable attempts to get one) by a meter reader every 12 months, and 90% of each area (defined as an area served by each connection to the National Grid) every four months. This will change sometime next year and will allow customer readings to be used under some circumstances. It's very hard to make any real comparisons price-wise as all tariffs are reviewed annually and you may save something now, but not later or vice versa. Unlike petrol prices, there are differences, but they depend on usage patterns in many cases (different fixed charges vs variable charges as an example). You need to do the sums or use the Consumer site. www.consumer.org.nz	godfather (25)
431805	2006-02-18 08:54:00	To Laura and GF, dad has had our electricity consumption and bill checked (we are low power user, around 90 bucks per month) on the Consumer website, it turns out that we only manage to save 17 bucks per annum. If we take account the connection and disconnection fee, then the switch is definitely not worth it - it takes a long time to recover back the fee. Cheers and thanks :)	Renmoo (66)
431806	2006-02-18 21:44:00	Pardon? What "connection and disconnection fee" are you talking about exactly, there is no such thing involved in switching electricity suppliers. The only "fee" that may very occasionally be faced is where you wanted to change to a different tariff that required a meter change, which only happens if you want a day/night tariff and your meter is not capable of it. Or a bond, in some other cases. Please point me to the documentation that leads you to the conclusion you have to pay connection and disconnection fees when switching suppliers James. If that is what it really says, then its a serious problem for that company!	godfather (25)
431807	2006-02-19 01:30:00	Goddie can you explain what you mean? eg connection or bond ? are these not really the same thing? if the house has not been disconnected but the power is still live at that house there should be no fee? :confused: I was also told that to have the house changed to another supplier would incur a charge to swap suppliers? is this not correct? I also had to pay a bond at that time? but if i stay with that supllier and move house that bond follows me from house to house? thanxs beetle	beetle (243)
431808	2006-02-19 04:15:00	From the Consumer site (my italics and bolding): Does it cost me anything to switch? It should cost you nothing. However, before agreeing to switch to a new electricity company, ask the company if there are any costs (for example, does it require a bond?). Also, check with your existing company as to whether it charges any final reading or disconnection fees. If you find that you are charged disconnection fees, particularly for so-called 'special meter readings', you should contact the Commerce Commission and check that the fees being charged are legal. (some fees may not be as they create a barrier to competition). Note that if you switch to a different type of plan modifications to your meter installation may be required. This may involve additional costs - check with your company. beetle, if you are establishing a connection at a "new location", or moving house there could well be a "connection fee" if the power was off. But James was talking about an existing installation with no change to its location, just switching Retailers. There is no "disconnection" or "reconnection" involved, the power does not switch off and on for such a supplier change. The bond is effectively an advance payment where you have no satisfactory credit history for an account in your own name with that supplier. Telecom get around it by charging the line rental one month in advance but so far power companies have not done that, opting for the bond system.	godfather (25)
431809	2006-02-19 05:02:00	Ok going back . . . . . . . . . . . . memory lag here . :D the power in these house's was not cut off so to speak just changed suppliers, and was told that after i paid bond i would have to pay a change of supplier charge . . . . . . . . . . . and this was for a new address, they then lost me in the system and it had taken 8 weeks to catch up with me . . . . . sigh . . . . . . . the power bill was livable but the phone bill was another story entirely . . . . doesnt pay to move it seems . beetle :rolleyes:	beetle (243)
431810	2006-02-20 09:49:00	Hello GF. According to Mercury Energy (www.mercury.co.nz) here, it says: Costs If your electricity supply is disconnected at your request (including temporary disconnections) or because of your breach of this agreement, then you must pay us on demand the costs of disconnection and reconnection and all our associated fees and charges. Not sure if the statement above reflects my situation? Cheers and thanks for raising the point on the disconnection - connection issue. Much appreciated. :) :D	Renmoo (66)
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