There are thousands of things to think about when you’ve got a young family. It can get a bit overwhelming really – childcare, preparing for school, after school activities, planning meals, sorting out parental leave… the list goes on. But there’s one essential component of our everyday lives that should be added to this list, and it’s one that’s often overlooked in the haze: your electricity plan.
It’s not something that immediately springs to mind when preparing for the changes a growing family brings, but it pays to regularly check whether your current electricity plan is the best one for your family as your lifestyle evolves. Because the way you use your power, and how often, changes dramatically when you have a family (unless you’re planning to raise your kids off the grid!). It’s not until a huge bill lands in your inbox that alarm bells go off – and even then, you might not put it down to being on the wrong electricity plan.
Case in point: at Flick, we recently noticed a customer’s electricity bills suddenly skyrocket. We got in touch and discovered that he and his wife had just had their first baby. Naturally, when the baby came along, their usage increased significantly – they were using more heating, washing more clothes, and using more appliances during the day. The Low User plan that worked for them before the baby arrived (when they were both working full time and out of the house during the day) no longer suited their needs. So we helped them switch over to a Standard User plan, subsequently dropping their total per kWh cost by around 19.5%. They’re now paying around $30 per week less for the same amount of electricity compared to what they would have been paying on their old plan.
Accessing the wholesale cost of power by being a Flick customer, along with switching electricity plans, has saved the family $782.44 since they joined us 4 months ago. That’s a significant saving for a family that is managing the drop in income and additional costs that come with having a baby!
Here at Flick, we’re all about educating electricity users, no matter who your provider is. Ensuring you’re on the right plan for your situation is an easy way to reduce your power bill, and with most power companies, you can switch plans once every year at no cost.
How can you tell what plan you’re on?
Check your bill. If your daily charge is about $0.30 per day then you’re on a Low User plan. If it’s higher, you’re on a Standard User plan. If you’re unsure, you should get in touch with your electricity retailer who will be able to help. Don’t be passive. Electricity Authority research found 59 per cent of people felt switching was easy, but the proportion of people who thought it worthwhile to review their current electricity plan was just 37 per cent.
And how do you know if you’re on the right plan?
Check this handy table:
| I live North of Christchurch | I use less than 8,000kWH per year | I use more than 8,000kWH per year |
| Low User | Standard User | |
| I live in Christchurch or further South | I use less than 9,000kWH per year | I use more than 9,000kWH per year |
| Low User | Standard User |
And check out Flick Electric!
If you’d like to know more about us (like the fact that we’re a two-year-old startup, NZ’s only Consumer Trusted power company with a 96% satisfaction rating, that we don’t believe in fixed term contracts, and that our customers benefit from the wholesale price of electricity – woohoo!), visit Flick Electric Co. online or check us out on Facebook.
