Uncertainty for electricity market – what does it mean for your bill?
New Zealanders are facing renewed uncertainty when it comes to paying their power bill as the country heads back into Level 2 Lockdown and Auckland into Level 3 Lockdown. Many New Zealanders are likely to be worried about bigger power bills coming their way, as they once again spend more time living and working at home.
Along with these immediate concerns about your power bill, there are bigger changes in the pipeline that could give you an opportunity to take advantage of cheaper electricity and save on your power bill.
A big change that will affect the price of electricity in the next 12 months is the announced closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in August 2021. As the biggest electricity consumer, Tiwai Point’s closure could lead to a situation of electricity oversupply leading to some significant reductions in power prices in the short-to-medium term. This gives consumers the opportunity to prepare to take advantage of potential savings.
The Government has recently announced spending on a number of potential new power generation projects that could enable the production of ‘green’ energy, create thousands of jobs and deliver more affordable power to New Zealanders. But whether these come to fruition, or when they’ll impact our power bill is still unknown.
The Government projects include spending $30 million to fund a close examination of $4 billion hydro project at Lake Onslow in Central Otago that could transform out energy system and mean New Zealand would no longer be reliant on fossil fuels for meeting our electricity demands. The Government has also announced that it is providing $11.9 million from its Covid Recovery fund to support investigations into a new 25MW geothermal power plant northeast of Lake Rotorua
It’s more important than ever to keep on top of your power bill
Experts seem to agree that we are coming into a time where consumers could see big changes in how much they pay for power. Take advantage of short term decreases in power prices by comparing power plans regularly to look for opportunities to save, and choosing a no-contract power plan that gives you the freedom to switch quickly.
Here are some top tips to help if you are concerned with your lockdown power bill.
Save on your power bill now
If you feel that you are paying too much for power, there are a number of power companies you may not have considered who are doing innovative things to help customers control and reduce how much they pay for power.
For example, Electric Kiwi offer their users a free hour of power every day. If you’re strategic about how you use your free hour of power it can add up to great savings. They guarantee that new customers will save on their power bill for the first 12 months with no contracts or break fees.
Or, Powershop often have competitive joining credit - plus choose to buy special Powerpacks to prepay your power when it’s cheaper, or pay as you go with guaranteed savings.
Compare power plans with Power Compare to make an informed choice about power. Or our Customer Support team are ready and waiting to chat with you on the phone about the best option for you. Give them a call on 0508 2COMPARE (0508 226672)