By Vanessa Pratley
Investigative Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakatewhatewha
Some Powershop customers say electricity bill estimates shown in the retailer’s new app are significantly higher than they are used to, prompting confusion and frustration at a time when power prices are rising across the country.
Prepay electricity retailer Powershop recently launched its new app, Powershop Lab. Since switching apps, some customers have taken to social media to report much higher bill estimates than in previous months.
It comes as power prices increase across the board, as a result of changes to lines charges. But lines charge increases alone don’t account for what some customers are calling huge bill estimates.
Customers complain about price increases
Powershop customers on social media reported estimates hundreds of dollars higher than usual.
In one Facebook post, a customer said:
“We normally pay $200-$300 per month & have done for 5+ years. Now all of a sudden, I log on to this new app & my expected bill for this month is $460!”
Comments on the post echo her sentiment, indicating estimates much higher than any predicted lines-charge-related increase.
“It’s predicting a huge increase for everyone. Power can't have increased that much surely,” said one commenter.
Another commenter said, “Our power was $164 between March and April last year. We were charged $298 this time round? I expected a slight increase but not almost a whole month’s worth of power. We’re very conscious of our power use too.”
“The new app is awful, granted we are a high-power household, but I know what our average bill looks like and I can assure you this ain’t it by nearly $500. The app is trash,” said another.
And users who have issues with the new app might be stuck while the retailer irons out issues. Powershop’s website says once users switch to the new app, they won’t be able to use the old one.
Powershop responds: ‘We’re sorry’
In a post on its Facebook page, Powershop acknowledged issues with the rollout of the new app.
“For those who have been switched, we hear you - it could be a lot better. We’re sorry. As a Powershopper, you’ll know we don’t do ‘set and forget’.
“We’re still calibrating a few features, so it won’t be perfect straight away. If you’ve got an idea for an improvement, send it our way. We’re listening. And if you spot a bug, help us squash it!”
Powershop addressed complaints about higher bill estimates in the comment section, stating: “If your usage or estimates look a little off, please get in touch so we can check it out. We know huge estimates can be scary!”
Consumer NZ approached Powershop for comment on the higher bill estimates reported by customers using the new app.
Chief Customer Officer Lisa Hannifin said Powershop acknowledged some of the new app experiences have created confusion.
“Some Powershop customers are seeing higher estimates than they expected, and we understand why that’s concerning. We’re sorry for any distress it may have caused people.”
“The important thing to know is customers haven't been charged those amounts. What people are reacting to are forward‑looking estimates, not an actual bill, and those estimates can be impacted by many factors,” Hannifin said.
“Our underlying power prices have only changed in line with what we communicated to our customers as part of the April price change. On average, Powershop customers will have a 7.9% increase on their bills – that's around $5.90 a week (including GST), with more than 40% of that increase from increased network charges, which are beyond our control.”
What’s behind electricity price increases?
Around 60% of this year's increases are due to an increase in lines charges’ costs – that’s the cost of delivering power to your house – and 40% due to increases in the cost of energy itself.
On average, electricity prices are increasing by around 8% this year. This is particularly tough for consumers coming on top of increases of around 12% last year.
“But headline averages hide what really matters, which is what happens on your own power bill,” said Paul Fuge, Powerswitch manager.
“And the differences between different retailers, plan types and regions are far bigger than most people realise.”
Consumer NZ analysed 936 of the most common electricity plan types across 14 retailers and multiple pricing regions. We found that the increases ranged from around 4% to 12%.
For a typical household consuming the average amount of electricity, this means an increase of between $115 and $344 per year.
Thinking of switching? Powerswitch has got your back
You can find out if there’s a plan that’s better for you through the free and independent power comparison website Powerswitch.
It only takes a few minutes, and you could save hundreds of dollars each year, with an average saving of $400.
Could your next power bill be smaller?
Powerswitch is the free, independent way to check your power plan in just 3 minutes, and see if you could save - backed by Consumer NZ.
