Over the years, we’ve featured plenty of our own staff (and their kids!) in our ads – because we think it’s cooler, and, let’s be honest, it helps keep costs down so we can keep our prices low. 

Our latest Kiwi Mobile ad stars Milly – daughter of Andy, our Chief Customer Officer – and she absolutely nailed it!

But what was it really like filming a TV ad?

Check out Milly’s behind-the-scenes chat below, where she spills on the fun, the challenges, and what she thought about driving that car!

Speaking of fair prices, here’s how Kiwi Mobile stacks up against a couple of the big guys:

Comparison between Kiwi Mobile’s Choice Plan and a competitor’s A’s 75GB Endless plan ($65/mth), and competitor B’s 50GB Endless plan from their websites on 17.03.25. Prices rounded to nearest dollar. Kiwi Mobile pricing assumes max-speed data usage spread evenly over a 30.42 day cycle. Kiwi Mobile provides max speeds up to chosen data tier allowance, then Endless data at reduced speeds of 1.2Mbps, or level up all the way to Unlimited max speed data. Visit www.kiwimobile.co.nz for details. T&Cs and Fair Use Policy apply. See Kiwimobile.co.nz for more details on the Choice Plan.

Haven’t Seen the Full Ad Yet? Watch Milly Steal the Show

P.S. If you’re in the mood for a trip down memory lane, check out our past ads on our website! Just a heads up, you might run into the infamous (or beloved, depending on your perspective) Electric Kiwi song.

The post Behind the Scenes: Milly’s Big Moments in the Kiwi Mobile Ad appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

Last year felt like a permanent bad news day for the energy industry. The good news is that the bad news days don’t have to continue. By utilising existing regulations to incentivise competition and investment we are well positioned to harness abundant energy assets to both drive economic growth and deliver affordable energy to Kiwis. 

The opportunity is massive

Our electricity is already mostly renewable (around 85%) and cheap to generate. 

And the great news is that the world is after this low-cost renewable energy. The more we have, the more we will attract overseas investment. More investment means more jobs, more tax revenue and energy will be cheaper for consumers. 

With cheap energy, our businesses can move away from fossil fuels too. This allows us to import less (whether that is diesel for buses, petrol for cars, or coal for burners) and make our exports more attractive. 

All of this is good for us, our economy and the planet.

That voice in your head

You may wonder, with all this potential, why did extreme energy prices, job losses and complex explanations by the government about “hedging” hit the headlines last winter? And why are my prices going up now when I was told I was protected then? 

Last winter’s power crisis was a perfect storm caused by a lack of rainfall and high gas prices and critically, by long term under investment in electricity supply, which has been held back by a market structure which favours continuing the dominance of existing suppliers. 

How does this all work?

Hydro generation costs almost nothing to run while gas and coal are expensive. But here is the interesting bit: everyone selling electricity into the spot market gets the same price, regardless of the generation type they supply. If you have hydro generation, you make a lot more money if you generate when coal is burning.

The incentive issue

This creates an interesting dilemma – why not keep supply low all the time? You make loads of money, without needing to invest in new generation assets.

The gentailers are therefore incentivised to keep supply “just enough” because that is the most profitable way to run their business. This is particularly true during the morning and evening when electricity usage peaks and coal and gas are needed. It makes commercial sense for the gentailers to use as much electricity as possible during these peak times, even though, to reduce overall prices and emissions, we should be aiming to shift our usage from these peaks.  

Hedge market

Spot prices are extremely volatile, so most electricity market investors (including the government) enter into contracts to buy and sell electricity at a fixed price in the future. This is called “hedging”. 

A simple way to think of hedging is that it is kind of like a fixed mortgage. You agree on a rate now for a time in the future. Hedge prices depend on the time of day and year – so for those peak times in winter, prices are eye-watering. 

Gentailers don’t need to buy hedges because they’re generating electricity and selling it to customers at the same time. 

Independent retailers have a big incentive to help New Zealand reduce overall prices and emissions by shifting our usage from peak times. But they need to buy these hedges from the gentailers to manage their financial risk. 

Independent generators need them too. If you want to build a solar or wind farm you can’t secure financing with risky cashflows from the spot market. You need to prove to the bank you’ll make steady cashflows from the hedge market. But you can only do that if you can buy flexible generation to fill the times when your solar or wind farm isn’t generating electricity. And you need to buy that flexible generation from the gentailers who own it all.

Are you seeing the problem here?

Gentailers are the only ones with flexible hydro generation that can be sold as a hedge at peak times. Because that’s the most valuable thing they own they often refuse to sell it at any price. This is called refusal to supply.

Gentailers make profits in the spot market when supply is tight. In fact, they can make so much they can sell power at a loss to keep retail competitors out of the market. This is called cross-subsidisation.

The combination of these two factors creates what’s known as market power. 

Market power keeps supply tight and risks the lights going out. It keeps competitors out of the market – both retailers and new generators who need to buy hedges backed by flexible generation to manage their financial risks. It keeps power prices high, puts a handbrake on economic growth, and slows down the energy transition.

The great news 

Fixing this is as easy as changing regulations. In simple terms, we need companies that are both retailers and generators to not cross-subsidise between the two, and to supply the power they generate to everyone equally. 

Generators should be incentivised to bring on more energy at lower prices and retailers should be highly incentivised to innovate to respond to wholesale demand. 

Retailers can make a real difference too. Kiwi homes could be saving $100m a year just by moving hot water off-peak, just one of many ways we can control demand and reduce prices by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels at peak times.

We need a market where everyone is operating with the same incentives – to deliver the best services at the lowest price. To achieve this, we need the Government to act this year on regulatory change to create the conditions for this to become a reality. There are some hopeful signs coming out of Wellington. Let’s all hope the change we need will come.  

The post A Brighter Future: How NZ Can Unlock Affordable, Renewable Energy appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

A plucky contender who’s been in the ring for just a few months. And in the blue corner? The established heavyweights of the industry, with years of experience, big-name recognition, and even bigger budgets.

Against the odds, Kiwi Mobile came out swinging, and took home the coveted NZ Compare People’s Choice Award 2024!

Who doesn’t love a plucky underdog story right?

We entered the mobile market not just to challenge (and at times annoy) the big dogs, but to help Kiwis save money.

Our goal is simple: stop people wasting cash on fast data they don’t use while ensuring they never have to worry about running out.

It’s pretty damn epic that this sentiment (along with the award-winning service you’ve come to expect from us) has struck the right chord with the members of the public who voted.

We’ll keep moving and making things even better based on feedback. In fact that’s what we did very recently with our Choice Plan. The top tier has now been upgraded from 100GB to UNLIMITED fast data (at the same daily price for that tier). Fair use policy applies.

We won’t be getting complacent, and safe to say there is more to come.

The grizzled veterans at Electric Kiwi have still got it

Under the Electric Kiwi banner we also took home the NZ Compare award for Best Customer Support – Power.

This one was decided by a panel of expert judges rather than the public – but it’s just as satisfying. In the midst of what’s likely the most tumultuous power market conditions we’ve ever seen, it’s great to be recognised for delivering top-notch service.

Awesome service aside, we’re focused on delivering innovation to help Kiwis save on their power bills. Our Hour of Power and off-peak rates reward you for shifting power to cheaper, greener times of the day. Our hot water automation can even do it for you.

And as always, we will keep the pressure on the government and regulators to fix this broken market!

What’s the story with NZ Compare and their awards?

In their own words “NZ Compare came to fruition on the belief that Kiwis deserve to make fully informed choices about their utility bills and purchases.“

They have a range of user friendly comparison platforms that are designed to help Kiwis compare and save, without bias or obligation. Which in our books, sounds like a win.

For those avid bargain hunters out there amongst us, they’re the same folks behind Priceme.

So why not give Kiwi Mobile a go?

You’ll get all the fast data you need, exactly when you need it – and you only pay for what you use. Plus, unlimited standard texts and calls to NZ and Australia. All with no contracts, no sneaky notice periods, or any of that nonsense.

Check out https://www.kiwimobile.co.nz/ for all the details. There’s even a handy little slider on the page to give you an idea of how much you could save.

To prove the People’s Choice award win wasn’t a fluke, we recently asked current Kiwi Mobile customers to rate their experience with us. The result? An epic average rating of 8.4 out of 10! Just in case you needed a little extra encouragement.

The post The People’s Champ: Kiwi Mobile Clinches NZCompare People’s Choice Award 2024 🥊 appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

It’s a well documented phenomenon that a lot of people will have chosen 7. People can be predictable. So when it comes to choosing a PIN to protect your most valuable data, despite there being 10,000 possible 4 number variations to select, research shows that around 25% of people will use one of those found in this top 20 list:

Passwords don’t fare much better in the research, with people still using P@ssword2, pets and relatives names and birthdays, and other predictable variations. And using these same PINs and passwords for everything. It’s like handing your, and possibly your employer’s, sensitive information to a hacker on a silver platter.

You may have seen various iterations of the below image doing the rounds on socials a while back saying password character length matters. Sorry but size really doesn’t matter, it really is what you do with it that counts!

Although longer is better, it’s also about randomness and multiple character types. A 36 character sentence-style password can be easily cracked if there’s enough information about you available online.

Why does this matter?

Our finances, essential services, communications with friends and family are mostly online now. If you’re using the same password or PIN across all your accounts, one breach can see your bank account drained, your friends scammed, and your identity used to set up accounts and impact your credit rating and future lending ability.

In November 2023, MBIE published the sobering statistic that scams had cost Kiwis almost $200m that year. In 2024 the incidents are reducing but the losses are increasing. CertNZ’s Q2 report (1 April – 30 June 2024) notes a 3% increase from Q1 in terms of direct financial losses with some of this increase attributed to incidents of ‘Unauthorised Access’ – unauthorised use of passwords to enter accounts.  

Making sure your security is tip-top:

• Use passphrases – 4 or more random words or a full sentence – but don’t use well-known quotes!
• Try not to have a pattern – if you can guess the next password in this sequence, so can a hacker…
  • MyF@veband01
  • MyF@veband02
  • MyF@veband03
  • What could the next one possibly be?!?!?!
• Test your password strength, and patience, using this online game
• Where MFA is available, use it!
• Use a password manager – if you can remember all your passwords, you’re not doing it right! If you’re an iPhone user, iOS18 has a Password Manager app built in – read about it here. For Android users and those who like to research their options, here are some reviews from the boffins at Wired Magazine and Google has their own version here. 
• Where a Passkey is offered, embrace the future! A growing number of organisations, like Air New Zealand, offer this option to secure your account. Find out more about what passkeys are and how they work here. 
• Make sure you keep your devices updated as recommended – don’t ignore those notifications. 

Check if your information has been involved in a data breach

You can check if your information linked to an email address has been found in any data breaches by putting each address into this website https://haveibeenpwned.com . If instances are found, even historical ones, it’s best to be safe and change your passwords asap – using the handy hints we’ve set out above! 

The post Staying safe online: Why a pet’s name isn’t a good password appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

Did you know Kiwi’s collectively spend around $400 million every year on unused mobile data? Shocking, right? Well, Kiwi Mobile is here to put an end to this madness and save you money with our innovative mobile plan.

Research shows that on average, Kiwis on post pay plans have about 6.7GB of mobile data unused every month. That’s a whopping 72.4 million gigabytes going down the drain annually. More than half of us (59%) are paying for more data than we actually need, and it’s no wonder that 68% of us want more flexibility in our mobile plans.

The Solution: Kiwi Mobile’s Choice Plan

Kiwi Mobile’s CEO, Luke Blincoe, has had enough of Kiwis being ripped off by inflexible mobile plans.

The current plans in the market are designed to make us pay for more data than we need, even the so-called ‘rollover’ plans.

Kiwi Mobile’s new plan is here to change the game.

How It Works:

Basically it’s one plan, that’s all the plans. You start with a 5GB max speed data allocation, then if you run out you can either use slower data (1.2Mb/s) for the rest of the month, or level up to the next tier (10GBs) to keep using fast data. You can keep levelling up all the way to 100GBs of max speed data. 

So if you need more fast data this month, go for it. If you don’t, that’s cool, you won’t need to pay for it either. Of course you can automate all of this easily in the snazzy new Kiwi Central app.

“It’s like being able to upgrade your plan whenever you want without the hassle of actually doing it several times a month,” says Luke. You only pay for the higher tiers on the days you use them, so no more getting ripped off or worrying about running out of data.

Transparency and Savings

We’re shedding light on the confusing tactics used by traditional telcos. These companies often encourage us to pay for more data than we need because it costs them very little to provide it. 

For example, if you’re on one competitor’s $65 endless plan with 15GB of data but only use 9GB, you still pay the full amount. With Kiwi Mobile, you’d only pay $44 for 9GB.

If you need 15GB, you pay $49, and if you go up to 89GB, you still only pay $61. You can use up to 100GB of max-speed data without breaking the bank.

No Hidden Costs, No Sneaky Fees

Following the Commerce Commission’s guidelines, Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan has no hidden costs or penalty fees for leaving. Including sneaky notice periods.

A Brand You Can Trust

Kiwi Mobile is brought to you by Electric Kiwi, one of New Zealand’s most-loved power and broadband brands. So customers can expect the same award-winning service and customer support with wait times under a minute. Kiwi Mobile operates on 2degrees’ mobile network, covering 98.5% of the places where Kiwis live and work.

Join the Revolution

“We are fired up,” says Luke. “We intend to really bring the challenge to the big guys, and our goal is that Kiwis are the benefactors of that.”

Ready to stop wasting money on unused mobile data? Check out Kiwi Mobile today and start saving!

Data on wasted gigs based on research commissioned by Kiwi Mobile and conducted by Perceptive in 2024.

Comparison based on competitor’s 15GB Endless data plan $65/month (15GB at Max Speed) taken from thier website on 11.7.24 and compared to Kiwi Mobiles Choice Plan. Monthly Kiwi Mobile price rounded to the nearest dollar, and estimated assuming max speed data usage is spread equally across an average monthly data cycle (30.42 days). Kiwi Mobile Choice Plan Max speeds up to chosen data tier allowance (to 100GB per month), then Endless data at reduced max speeds of 1.2mbps. T&Cs and Fair Use Policy apply.

Flexible, fair, and designed to save you money. That’s better.

The post Why Kiwi Mobile is shaking up the mobile industry appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

The Good, the Bad, and the Data-Hungry

Group mobile plans can be a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, they can save you money if everyone’s on the same page about data usage. But let’s be real, who hasn’t been stuck with that one mate who streams Netflix 24/7 and blows through the whole data allowance before you can say “Bob’s your uncle”? Or that same person that means you need to join another group plan where you all have heaps of max speed data you don’t need.

Kiwis all have different needs in terms of data, and until now there was no easy way for Kiwis to get the benefit of buddying up as well as the freedom to have the plan that suits them best.  The good news is we reckon that’s all changed now Kiwi Mobile is on the scene.

The Kiwi Mobile Difference: Having buddies pays off

That’s where Kiwi Mobile’s option to add Buddies comes in. Unlike some of the other fellas, we reckon everyone should have their own max speed data allowance and not be tied to one data cap.

It means an end to paying a premium for someone else’s TikTok addiction.  

You can add friends and family to your plan while keeping everyone’s data separate! No sharing, no all having to pick the same max speed data limit.

Here’s the deal:

Let’s do a quick comparison on group plans by provider. As you can see, Kiwi mobile’s Choice plan has its nose ahead in terms of the features listed.

Details taken from an online review on the 15th of July 2024

So, are group mobile plans a good idea?

In a word. Yeah.

Adding Buddies can save you all some cash.

But we reckon that our Choice plan offers better freedom and therefor more potential savings than the others. 

To find out what you can save head to our site. In a few minutes you can calculate what you and your buddies could save!

Better yet. Call a buddy and crack on!

Learn more about buddies with Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan here

Can include up to four buddies. Each buddy plan must be added to a primary account holders billing account who is responsible for all charges. You each get max speeds up to chosen data tier allowance (to 100GB per month), then Endless data at reduced max speeds of 1.2mbps.

The post Group Mobile Plans: Yay or Nay? A Kiwi’s Guide to Shared Plans appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

Type 1: The ‘buy enough, but don’t always use it’ people.

Annual Saving: $271

This is a common group in NZ. People who never want to run out of max speed data, so they buy enough to make sure that this does not happen (or at least very rarely). These types can end up paying for max speed data that they don’t use, especially in quieter months. So how does this look when we look at a real 12 months of bills?

The key difference with Kiwi Mobile’s Choice Plan, is that our plan flexes with your data usage. You don’t need to pay for 12, 15 or 100 GBs of max speed data every month just in case you might need it. You commit to 5GBs, and then after that you can use up to 100GBs of max speed data each month. 

This is Andy. To make the comparison fairer, below we’ve compared his old telco’s 15GB plan (the one they have in market based on our review done on 16/07/24)) – but note that in September, he was actually slowed down on his old 12GB plan. As you can see, every month he would have been better off on Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan, and based on Andy’s actual usage he would have saved $271 over the last year with Kiwi Mobile.

Type 2: The ‘use more than you buy’ people.

Annual Saving: $167

So this is Tessa. She is with a big Telco and pays $63 a month for 12GBs of max speed data. As you can see below Tessa gets slowed down a LOT because she frequently uses more than 12GB of max speed data each month . In fact she was using endless data (at 1.2MB/s) 11 months out of the 12 we looked at.

Endless data is great! It can help you control costs. With Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan, you get endless data too (at the end of every tiers). The difference is that you can keep to max speed all the way to 100GBs each month if you want to without any hassle. You are in charge.

So comparing Tessa’s usage, she could have stayed on max speed data with Kiwi Mobile every month, and she still would have saved $167 over the year! Cool huh?

Note that Tessa is still on this plan, but the big telco she is with does not offer this plan anymore according to their website (review done on 16/07/24). The closest current option from this telco would be 18GBs of endless data for $72 a month.

Type 3: The ‘buy lots, but hardly ever use it’ people

Annual Saving: $298

Let’s take a look at Christine. She was buying 12GBs of max speed data for $65 a month (Like Andy, she could now upgrade to 15GBs of max speed data for the same price with the big telco).

Unlike Andy, Christine hardly ever uses lots of max speed data. And like lots of Kiwis, she has a bigger allowance because she does not want to get slowed down. 

So based on the year’s usage shown, Christine would have saved $298 over the year with Kiwi Mobile. She’d have stopped buying so much max speed data that didn’t end up being used – but she would have the freedom to use as much as she likes. That’s better aye?

It’s worth noting that even on the same big telco’s $45 plan (with 5GBs of max speed data), Christine would still have saved $58 with Kiwi mobile. So there is no need to have data anxiety anymore. Just get all the fast data you need, and pay for what you use!

Note that Christine is still on this plan, but the big telco she is with does not offer this plan anymore according to their website (review done on 16/07/24). The closest current option from this telco would be 15GBs of endless data for $65 a month. This would not change the comparison above.

The Kiwi Mobile Choice plan is like having one plan that’s all the plans. Use a little one month, and heaps the next, but only pay for the max speed data that you actually use.

The post All the different savers appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

To help you really understand the nuts and bolts, we’ll take you through a few examples of how you might use it, and what things might cost.

Andy’s plan.

Andy was with another big telco previously, and the below graph shows his monthly usage over a year (this is real usage from one of our staff). As you can see, he was paying $65 for 12GBs of max speed data (note the allowance has recently moved up to 15GBs). Andy used between 5GBs and 13GBs a month over the year.

The key difference with Kiwi mobile’s Choice Plan, is that our plan flexes with your data usage. You don’t need to pay for 12 or 15 GBs every month just in case you might need them. You commit to 5GBs, and then after that you can use up to 100GBs of max speed data each month and just pay for what you use. You get peace of mind, and save!

To make the comparison fairer, we’ve shown the below compared to his old telco’s 15GB plan – but note that in September, Andy was actually slowed down on his 12GB plan (he is still complaining about it). As you can see, every month Andy would have been better off on  Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan.

Based on Andy’s actual usage he would have saved $271 with Kiwi mobile.

You may look at this usage and say, why did Andy not just move to that big telco’s 5GB plan ($45 per month)? 

Good question. But if Andy did, based on this usage, he would still save $39 annually with Kiwi Mobile, and he would avoid being slowed down 6 months out of 12. Sounds like he is better off with us.

Drilling into usage

Let’s look into a few examples of how monthly usage might work and what that would cost on the Kiwi Mobile Choice Plan (vs with his old big telco). We’ll look at January, February and March on Andy’s Kiwi Mobile Choice  plan. Note that the data used each day here is estimated, as his old telco did not have historical daily data usage available for this analysis. 

When we talk about data used below, we are assuming that all of it was max speed data (e.g. Andy was on the max speed mode and levelled up at the end of each tier).

Getting nerdy

With Kiwi mobile, you don’t have to level up to more max speed data when you run out. If you’d rather save more money, you can continue at the end of any tier on endless data (it just means you slow down to 1.2mb/s – which can be annoying for some things, but for email and simple stuff it’s ok). So let’s look at a few examples.

1. Capping your tier

This shows the price difference on Kiwi Mobile’s Choice plan if Andy had capped his max speed data at 10GBs in March. As you can see it would have cost $46 with the 10GB cap in place, and Andy would have spent 6 days on endless data (at 1.2Mb/s). To stay on max speed data the whole time it would have cost Andy $47.80 ($1.80 more to stay at max speed).

2. Using lots of max speed data

The cool thing about Kiwi Mobile, is that you can save if you use lots too. But just because you need to use lots of max speed data some (or heaps) of the time, it should not mean you need to pay for lots every month right?

The below example shows a comparison between a made up customer (let’s call him Bob) that used 86GBs. The comparison is between the other telco’s $85 unlimited plan. To stay on max speed the entire time, Bob would have paid $60.40 on Kiwi Mobile’s Choice Plan, and if Bob had capped his max speed data at 40GBs, then he would have paid $59.40.

One of the best things about the Choice plan, is that while you know you have heaps of max speed data when you need it, you just don’t need to pay for the luxury!

Let’s look at a month where Bob only used 28.81GBs (still a lot for many people, but lower than average for Bob). As you can see Bob would pay just $52.40 with Kiwi Mobile, compared to his normal $85 with the other telco. That’s over $30 of savings in just one month!

The Kiwi Mobile Choice plan is flexible and fair and designed to save you money. You never need to worry about running out of max speed data, but you only pay for the max speed data that you need. That’s better.

Note: Prices for competitors sourced from their websites on 16/07/2024

The post Understanding the Choice plan appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

Electric Kiwi has made the decision to stop accepting new electricity customers due to extremely elevated wholesale energy prices. This also means that, for now, only existing customers can join broadband with Electric Kiwi.

Wholesale energy prices have increased by 73% in the past 6 months^* and current wholesale energy futures prices (these are the products that we buy in order to supply energy to our customers) have now reached a point where every new unhedged customer would be loss making for our business.

Obviously we are very disappointed. Electric Kiwi entered the market to make it better for Kiwis. Over the years we have saved Kiwi families millions, and brought heaps of innovations to market (from time-of-use plans, to the Hour of Power, the green meter and more). We’re gutted that we are now turning customers away.

What the hell is going on?

The wholesale market in NZ electricity has been a basket case for years. Wholesale prices have been steadily rising, and calls from us and others for market reform have fallen on deaf ears. In 2023 we raised a complaint with the Commerce Commission regarding misuse of market power in New Zealand energy markets.

The Commission agreed there was an issue but passed responsibility for resolution to the Electricity Authority who have the policy tools to quickly enact market reform. Commissioner John Small has stated^ “The wholesale electricity market is of real concern…we think it’ll be much faster [to work with the Electricity Authority] than dragging four or five big companies through the courts for three years and then be told that three years ago what you did was illegal. That doesn’t solve anything”.

Yet what has the Electricity Authority done to address this urgent problem? A year on and nothing has happened.

When we raised the complaint in 2023, the ASX baseload futures prices for calendar years 2024 and 2025 were around $165, this is now $298 and $277 respectively. If that is not evidence of something being properly stuffed, we are really not sure what is. And that’s before you take into account that during peak demand periods (mornings and evenings when we’re all using the most energy) prices can be multiples higher.

Below is a graph showing the wholesale prices since 2013. As you can see the upward trajectory is pretty full on and futures prices increased 17% just last week. And all of this is happening while the big four Gentailers (Mercury, Contact, Meridian and Genesis) make record profits. In FY22 they made $1.9bn, in FY23 they made $2.2bn and all indications are that they’re on track for even more massive profits in FY24.

^John Small, “Nine to Noon” interview by Kathryn Ryan, Radio New Zealand, July 24, 2024.

Chart shows the average annual baseload prices at the Otahuhu node (north island reference node). For the period Jan 2013 to June 2024 actual spot prices have been used and for the period July 2024 to Dec 2025 the current ASX futures price has been used (as at 15 July and 23 July 2024)

We are not the only ones screaming out for change. NZ is in a great position to provide green energy at reasonable prices for Kiwi households and businesses, which would encourage further investment in our economy and keep NZ the best place in the world to live.

A market controlled by a few players (the big four gentailers), who are highly incentivized to keep supply tight – and who hold all the power when it comes to providing energy during those critical peak times – is not going to get NZ where it needs to go.

In the end, these wholesale prices are passed through to Kiwi households and businesses. So we should all be pissed off, and we should all be demanding action.

So what’s next?

For the benefit of all Kiwis, something has to be done. We have informed both the Electricity Authority and the government on why we have taken this decision. And we hope this time that they have a mind to do something about it.

In the meanwhile, we will stay closed to new electricity customers.

FAQs

Why are you not accepting customers?

The wholesale price of energy, that is one of our biggest input costs, has reached a point where it is no longer commercially realistic to continue to acquire customers. For every existing customer we have, we have locked in some of our future input costs, but we need to keep buying forward contracts for those customers (to cover their future energy use), and these prices are extremely high.

If I am an existing Electric Kiwi customer, can I still move house?

Yes. If you are moving, you can do this via the app, or your online account. If you have a unique situation (e.g. you are moving, but a new person is taking the account), just jump on chat and we can sort this out for you.

Can existing customers still join broadband?

Yes. You can do this via your online account.

Can new customers join broadband?

No. At the moment we only allow people to join broadband if they have power. This is a technical restriction that we are planning to resolve. But for now that means that only existing customers can join broadband.

How long will this continue for?

It’s hard to say. At this point we are assuming it could be a month or more. But if things stay the same or get worse it could be longer. You never know, the government and the Electricity Authority might decide that it’s time to finally do something about the broken wholesale market?!

^*This refers to Calendar year 2025 futures price increases over the past 6 months.

The post Why is Electric Kiwi not taking new Electricity customers? appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

What do you mean by “peaky”?

The electricity market gets really peaky when there is a lot of demand for electricity stretching capacity to supply. This is when wholesale spot prices soar, and also when we tend to use more of that dirty generation (like coal).

Normal peaks occur in the morning (between 7 – 9am) when we’re all busy getting ready for our day, or in the evening (between 5 – 9pm) when we’re all back home cooking and doing whatever we need to do! When things get really peaky during these times then we have a Peaky Event.

How does Peaky Bank help?

At Electric Kiwi, we are all about loadshifting, as it reduces costs for our customers and helps reduce New Zealand’s emissions by reducing demand when it’s peaky so less coal and gas needs to be burned.

We believe that Kiwis deserve a seat at the table. Peaky Bank is your opportunity to help reduce those peaks when there’s a Peaky Event and be rewarded for doing so.

Key things to know:

1. Peaky Events will last for 1 – 3 hours and will very likely be during normal morning and evening peak times. They will most likely be during winter and early spring.
2. We will send customers Peaky Bank notifications by email and app when things are peaky – this will likely be the night before morning events or by lunchtime for evening events.
3. You can opt out of these notifications at any time.
4. Peaky Bank notifications will let you know the time and length of the peaky period.
5. To be eligible for the reward you need to opt in to each event.
6. If you choose to participate you will be paid $2/kWh for the electricity that you reduce (this will be calculated based on your normal usage using the method described below)

How do I maximise my rewards?

We don’t recommend that people sit in the dark or go cold. But there are simple things you can do to reduce your electricity usage for an hour or two.

1. Turn off lights in rooms you are not using.
2. Turn off heating in rooms you are not using.
3. Delay putting on the washing machine, dryer or dishwasher.
4. Delay charging things like phones, computers and cars.
5. Turn off stuff that you are not using (like the TV in the spare room).

FAQs

How do you figure out how much I reduced my power by?

We will take the half-hourly profile of your power usage over the past four weekdays, or four weekend days (if the Peaky Event is on a weekend). These four days will exclude any days which had a Peaky Event.

We will then calculate how much your profile changed during the Peaky Event and then calculate the energy saved in kWh based on your total energy usage on the day.

When will this happen?

Peaky Bank rewards are more likely to happen in the morning, and the evening and during the winter months. This is because this is when Kiwis use the most power.

When will my Peaky Bank credits hit my account?

We will run a process monthly to credit your account for all of the peaky bank rewards that you are due. Some months this may be for multiple events.

Are these events an emergency?

No. Only Transpower can issue warning notices about potential supply issues with the national grid. The national grid is very well managed, and while things get tight (and expensive) fairly often, this does not usually mean there is anything to worry about. However, it is possible that a Peaky Event coincides with a Transpower warning notice.

Either way, as a household you are not obligated to reduce or shift your load, as Transpower, the distribution networks, generators and very large electricity consumers are also doing their part to manage the risk. However, you still might want to take part to add to your Peaky Bank, help reduce emissions and just generally be helpful as every little bit counts!

Do I have to do this?

Nope. We know this is not for everyone. If you don’t want to participate you do not need to, and if you want to stop getting notifications you can opt out (we will provide this option on all of the email notifications, and then remove you from the list if you ask us to).

There might be the rare occasion when there is a genuine grid emergency. In this case we will notify you of this and post social media messages. You will also hear about it directly from Transpower and from trusted news media.

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