Electric Kiwi

Electric Kiwi is an independent online New Zealand electricity retailer. Established in 2014, the company is focused on using cloud computing and smart meters to more efficiently service customers in the major urban areas around the country. Its services depend on the presence of the smart meters in the customer's home; with over one million households in New Zealand equipped with smart meters as of January 2014,[1] the majority of the country's population can be served by Electric Kiwi. As the smart meter rollout continues, the company's theoretical area of operation continues to expand. With its ‘no frills’ data-driven approach, Electric Kiwi offers a free off-peak hour of power to its customers each day. The off-peak time slots are between 9am-5pm and 9pm-7am every day.[2]

As at November 2016, Electric Kiwi is the fastest growing electricity retailer in New Zealand with over 5300 customers.[3]

History

Electric Kiwi was established in mid-2014 and took on its first ‘test’ customers in December of that year, before launching to the public in May 2015. The company's founders, including Julian Kardos, saw an opportunity in the staid electricity retailing market for a provider which leveraged the capabilities of the hundreds of thousands of smart meters being rolled out countrywide. Despite smart meters being installed in a growing number of New Zealand households, electricity retailers were not using their capabilities for the benefit of customers. Consumer advocacy group Consumer NZ noted,[4] "When we last wrote about smart meters in 2008, we predicted they’d be great for the electricity industry, but were sceptical about the benefits for consumers. Unfortunately, we were right – they’ve saved power companies money, but most of us are yet to enjoy lower costs or increased control over our electricity use." As its point of differentiation, Electric Kiwi set out to use the information from smart meters to allow the more accurate purchase of electricity from wholesalers, passing on the savings to its customers. It also established highly efficient cloud-based business systems and processes, seeking to minimise overheads and pass those savings on to customers. Reflecting its status as a young company – and targeting tech-savvy customers – Electric Kiwi leverages a variety of communication technologies including web chat, on social media, email or telephone, and offers online web self-service.[5] The company doesn’t require customers to enter into a contract, relying on quality of service and low price for customer retention.

In July 2018, it was reported that Electric Kiwi's free hour of power was causing local lines in northern Dunedin to overload, causing regular outages. The area is home to a large number of students from the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic, many of whom had chosen 9-10pm as their free hour. Electric Kiwi claimed the issue was due to inadequate local lines infrastructure and low-quality housing in the areas, while local lines company Aurora Energy claimed that it would be uneconomical to provide extra capacity to deal with short term spikes and that retailers should ensure any promotion does not cause disruptions on their network.[6]

Areas of operation

Electric Kiwi services customers in the following local lines company areas.[7]

North Island
  • Top Energy (Far North district)
  • Northpower (Whangarei and Kaipara districts)
  • Vector (Auckland region north of Papakura)
  • Counties Power (Pukekohe)
  • WEL Networks (Hamilton and northern Waikato)
  • Waipa Networks (Waipa)
  • Powerco (western Bay of Plenty, eastern Waikato, Taranaki, most of Manawatu-Wanganui and Wairarapa)
  • Unison Networks (Rotorua, Taupo, Napier & Hastings)
  • Eastland Network (Gisborne and East Coast)
  • Horizon Energy Distribution (Eastern Bay of Plenty)
  • Centralines (Central Hawke's Bay)
  • Electra (Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast districts)
  • Wellington Electricity (Wellington metro)
South Island
  • Nelson Electricity (Central Nelson city area)
  • Network Tasman (Wider Nelson and Tasman areas)
  • Marlborough Lines (Marlborough)
  • MainPower (North Canterbury & Kaikoura regions)
  • Orion (Christchurch and Selwyn)
  • EA Networks (Ashburton / Mid-Canterbury)
  • Alpine Energy (Timaru / South Canterbury)
  • Network Waitaki (North Otago / Oamaru)
  • Aurora Energy (Dunedin city and most of Central Otago)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "22 January - One million smart electricity meters now installed". www.ea.govt.nz. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  2. ↑ "Hour of power ElectricKiwi.co.nz - Smaller. Smarter". Electric Kiwi. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  3. ↑ "The National Business Review". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  4. ↑ "Smart meters". Consumer NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  5. ↑ "Contact us ElectricKiwi.co.nz - Smaller. Smarter". Electric Kiwi. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  6. ↑ "Power cuts in North Dunedin blamed on free hour of power". Otago Daily Times. 18 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Areas we supply". Electric Kiwi. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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