Electric Kiwi

Last updated
Electric Kiwi
Industry Electricity
Founded2014;10 years ago (2014)
Headquarters
Auckland
,
New Zealand
Area served
 New Zealand
Key people
Luke Blincoe (CEO)
Website electrickiwi.co.nz

Electric Kiwi is an independent online New Zealand electricity retailer.

Contents

Established in 2014, Electric Kiwi has a focus on using cloud computing and smart meters to service customers in major urban areas around the country. Its services depend on the presence of smart meters in the customer's home. Over one million households in New Zealand were equipped with smart meters as of January 2014. [1]

Electric Kiwi is owned by Energy Collective Limited. [2] 66.8% of the stock is owned by Scientific Investors LPP, a holdings firm based in the United Kingdom, and the other 33.2% is owned by private investors. [3]

Electric Kiwi offers a free off-peak hour of power to its customers between 9am-5pm and 9pm-7am daily. [4] As of November 30, 2020, Electric Kiwi had 70,900 customers, giving it a 3.2% share of the retail market and making it the 10th-largest retailer in New Zealand. Nearly all (69,800, or 98.4%) of its customers are classified as residential. [5]

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, which are: Julian Kardos, Phillip Andreson and Huia Burt, saw an opportunity in the electricity retailing market for a provider which leveraged the capabilities of smart meters which it and Consumer advocacy group Consumer NZ believed were being under utilised at that time. [6]

Electric Kiwi used the information gathered from smart meters to determine the exact purchase of electricity from wholesalers with the intent of passing on those savings to its customers.

In April 2017, Electric Kiwi accused competitor Trustpower of intentionally slowing the uptake of smart meters with their customers to prevent them shifting to retailers that rely on smart meter technology. The Electricity Authority said they were satisfied with efforts by retailers to roll out smart meter use.

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 many students from the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic, many of whom had chosen the same hour for free power. 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. [7] In September 2019 the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority launched the 'Gen Less' campaign targeted at this demographic to encourage less energy use. [8]

During an October 2018 spike in prices in the New Zealand wholesale electricity market, Electric Kiwi announced a halt on customers switching from spot-price providers. Electric Kiwi CEO Luke Blincoe stated "Choosing a spot-based retailer is similar to not insuring your car. You can end up paying more if something goes wrong. While we would love to help, it's a bit like calling your insurance company to get cover after a car crash has happened." [9]

Electric Kiwi laid a joint complaint to the Electricity Authority in October 2018 with Flick Electric, Pulse and Vocus Communications over the market spike, alleging an 'Undesirable Trading Situation'. In February 2019, the Electricity Authority found that the price spike had been a result of outages and a lack of information about gas supply, finding no evidence of anticompetitive behavior by generators. [10]

In June 2019 Electric Kiwi complained to the Commerce Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority that competitor Meridian Energy was 'greenwashing' in their advertising campaign stating that they generate power from 100% renewable energy sources. As most energy generated in New Zealand goes into the same lines for distribution, they argued this could mislead consumers to believe the power they were getting from Meridian was the power they generated. [11] Both the ASA and CC dropped the complaint.

In 2019, Electric Kiwi funded two studies by Auckland University of Technology on 'kiwi' identity. [12]

After heavy rainfall and flooding in Southland in November 2019, Electric Kiwi joined small retailers in lodging a complaint to the Electricity Authority over competitors Meridian Energy and Contact Energy's spilling of water from their hydropower stations. [13] Both stated that they had acted correctly.

In April 2020 Electric Kiwi complained to the Electricity Authority that competitor Genesis Energy were breaching the New Zealand Government Electricity Pricing Review Panel's ban on 'Win Backs', a practice where customers would be offered a better deal by their electricity retailer if they said they would leave. Genesis admitted it was a clerical error and apologised. [14]

On 16 May, while New Zealand was in isolation at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Electric Kiwi sponsored the 'Jam on Toast' live music festival, streamed online through Facebook. [15]

Awards

Areas of operation

Electric Kiwi services customers in the following local lines company areas. [20]

North Island
South Island

See also

Related Research Articles

The New Zealand electricity market (NZEM) is a decentralised electricity market regulated by the Electricity Industry Participation Code administered by the Electricity Authority (EA). The authority was established in November 2010 to replace the Electricity Commission.

Electricity retailing is the final sale of electricity from generation to the end-use consumer. This is the fourth major step in the electricity delivery process, which also includes generation, transmission and distribution.

Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and is the fourth largest retailer, with 14 percent of market share in terms of customers as of December 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manapouri Power Station</span> Dam in Fiordland National Park, Southland

Manapōuri Power Station is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. At 854 MW installed capacity, it is the largest hydroelectric power station in New Zealand, and the second largest power station in New Zealand. The station is noted for the controversy and environmental protests by the Save Manapouri Campaign against raising the level of Lake Manapouri to increase the station's hydraulic head, which galvanised New Zealanders and was one of the foundations of the New Zealand environmental movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vector Limited</span> New Zealand electricity distribution company

Vector Limited is a New Zealand energy company, which runs a portfolio of businesses delivering energy and communication services across Australasia and the Pacific. Its primary business is electricity distribution, along with distributing piped gas. It also has a bottled gas business, owns a fibre optic cable network, deploys electricity and gas meters, manages solar infrastructure projects and offers cybersecurity services and a data platform. It is also the parent company of HRV ventilation solutions.

Entrust, formerly named Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT) prior to June 2016, is a trust for electricity consumers in Auckland, New Zealand. Formed in 1993 as sole owner of the original Mercury Energy Limited, it is now majority owner of electricity and gas distributor Vector Limited, a child of the original Mercury, the other child being the retailing division of Mercury Energy. The Trust will be wound up in 2073 and its assets transferred to the local government authority or authorities in the Trust district. There have been calls for the Trust to be wound up sooner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manawa Energy</span> New Zealand electricity generation and retailing company

Manawa Energy limited is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa energy currently operate 26 power schemes from the Bay of Plenty in the north, to Otago in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury Energy</span> New Zealand electricity generating and retailing company

Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. Mercury has a pre-paid electricity product sub-brand GLOBUG. Mercury Energy is also the largest electricity retailer in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart meter</span> Online recorder of utility usage

A smart meter is an electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and communicates the information to the consumer and electricity suppliers. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communication between the meter and the supplier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contact Energy</span> New Zealand electricity generating and retailing company

Contact Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator, a wholesaler of natural gas, and a retailer of electricity, natural gas, broadband and LPG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart grid</span> Type of electrical grid

The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is mainly focused on three systems of a smart grid – the infrastructure system, the management system, and the protection system. Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects of the smart grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter</span> Aluminium smelter in New Zealand

The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in New Zealand</span> Overview of wind power in New Zealand

Wind power constitutes a small but growing proportion of New Zealand's electricity. As of December 2020, wind power accounts for 690 MW of installed capacity and over 5 percent of electricity generated in the country.

The electricity sector in New Zealand uses mainly renewable energy, such as hydropower, geothermal power and increasingly wind energy. As of 2021, the country generated 81.2% of its electricity from renewable sources. The strategy of electrification is being pursued to enhance the penetration of renewable energy sources and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors of the economy. In 2021, electricity consumption reached 40 Terawatt-hours (TWh), representing a 0.2% increase compared to the consumption levels in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrical grid</span> Interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers

An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power long distances, and lastly electric power distribution to individual customers, where voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage(s). Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids.

Powershop is an online electricity retailer founded in New Zealand, and also available in Australia. In New Zealand, Powershop is a subsidiary of Meridian Energy, of which 51% is owned by the New Zealand Government. The retailer operates through an online platform offering pre-pay and post-pay options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Energy (New Zealand)</span> New Zealand electricity distribution company

Aurora Energy is New Zealand's seventh largest electricity distribution network by customer connections, supplying electricity to 91,600 homes, farms and businesses in Dunedin, Central Otago, and the Queenstown-Lakes District. Aurora Energy is owned by Dunedin City Holdings Limited on behalf of the Dunedin City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEL Networks</span> New Zealand electricity distribution company

WEL Networks Limited is an electricity distribution company, serving the northern and central Waikato region of New Zealand. WEL is the sixth largest electricity distribution company in New Zealand, with 100,142 connections and 7,021 km (4,363 mi) of lines and underground cables. The company is 100% owned by the WEL Energy Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlborough Lines Limited</span> Electricity distribution company, based in Blenheim, New Zealand.

Marlborough Lines Limited is an electricity distribution company, based in Blenheim, New Zealand. Marlborough Lines is responsible for subtransmission and distribution of electricity to approximately 26,000 customers in the Marlborough Region over a service area of 11,330 km2 (4,370 sq mi). The network includes approximately 3,400 km (2,100 mi) of power lines extending to some very isolated areas across the region, including the extremities of the Marlborough Sounds, which can only be reached by boat or helicopter.

References

  1. ↑ "22 January - One million smart electricity meters now installed". www.ea.govt.nz. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  2. ↑ "View All Details". app.companiesoffice.govt.nz. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. ↑ "Shareholdings". app.companiesoffice.govt.nz. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Hour of power ElectricKiwi.co.nz - Smaller. Smarter". Electric Kiwi. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  5. ↑ "Electricity Authority - EMI (market statistics and tools)". www.emi.ea.govt.nz.
  6. ↑ "Smart meters". Consumer NZ. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  7. ↑ "Power cuts in North Dunedin blamed on free hour of power". Otago Daily Times. 18 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Less, Gen. "Join Gen Less & Live More with Less Energy". Gen Less. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  9. ↑ "Spot pricing 'like not insuring your car', retailer says as it puts brakes on switches". Stuff. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  10. ↑ "Electricity Authority knocks back Flick, Electric Kiwi complaint". Stuff. 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  11. ↑ Shaw, Aimee (27 June 2019). "Energy company stoush: Electric Kiwi lays complaints against Meridian Energy". NZ Herald.
  12. ↑ "Say goodbye to Buzzy Bee, jandals and hokey pokey - our national identity is getting a makeover". Stuff. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  13. ↑ "Electricity firms accuse hydro-generators of high prices after dumping water". RNZ. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  14. ↑ "Genesis Energy admits hundreds of breaches of 'win-back' ban". Stuff. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  15. ↑ "Jam On Toast Feat. Imugi, King Kapisi, Tei. + More - Streaming Event, Online". UnderTheRadarNZ. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  16. ↑ "Explore the 2018 Fast 50 winners and results". Deloitte Fast 50. 2018.
  17. ↑ "Hall of fame". Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards. 2018.
  18. ↑ "Energy providers survey". Consumer NZ. 2018.
  19. ↑ "2017 Power Companies NZ". Canstar Blue. 2018.
  20. ↑ "Areas we supply". Electric Kiwi. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "Indepentent power company Electric Kiwi brings the juice to Tararua". Stuff. 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.