Switch on your social power and shine a light on power price

21 March 2016

Switch on your social power and shine a light on power prices

A social media campaign to expose increasing electricity costs and unfair pricing for Kiwi families is being launched today, just as power companies announce electricity prices are going up again from April 1.

“Kiwis pride themselves on fairness and transparency but that’s sorely lacking in the New Zealand electricity market,” says Andrew Booth, CEO of New Zealand’s leading solar energy service company, solarcity.

The company is asking consumers to switch on their social power and shine a light on power price rises by posting their power bills online with the hashtag #timetoswitch.

Government figures show New Zealand power prices have increased by more than 150% in the past 20 years. (1) Major power companies (2) have recently announced price rises around New Zealand with some Wellington homes facing a 7% hike. (3)

“The trend of rising power bills, with complex pricing plans and thousands of different pricing schemes, seems out of control and raises a whole series of questions.

“Why is that Northland families pay up to $1,200 a year more for power than households in Christchurch with the same energy retailer? And why is that Dunedin homeowners pay the lowest price for power while 80 kilometres down the road the people of Balclutha are paying the highest?

“The ‘Think Big’ initiative that built the Clyde Dam was in response to the high the costs of energy from oil. Today we know that small is beautiful and that if power pricing continues| to rise at the same rate for the next 20 years, Kiwi households will fork out an additional $11.7bn for daytime power alone, compared to fixing the price they pay today by going solar.”

solarcity encourages homeowners to increase energy efficiency and lock in a fixed price for day time power through its solarZero energy service.

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