Graeme Purches dismissed the figures. Photo / Ben Fraser
Graeme Purches dismissed the figures. Photo / Ben Fraser
TrustPower disputes figures compiled by online electricity retailer Powershop that some Tauranga residents were paying more than $500 a year too much on their power bills.
Powershop, which clashed with the city's biggest electricity retailer last year over prices, has this time used a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's survey of domestic power prices to back its case.
The survey showed that up to 187,830 households nationwide were with their respective region's most expensive retailer on November 15. These households paid a combined average of 16 per cent more than households with the cheapest retailer.
TrustPower's community relations manager Graeme Purches responded by labelling the figures "a load of rubbish".
It was the second time in two months TrustPower had been put on the defensive by Powershop. Two hundred TrustPower customers jumped ship to other retailers after Powershop and Energy Online each launched advertising campaigns last year, claiming TrustPower customers would be better off with them, despite the annual TECT cheque.
The results of the study by the ministry, which were compiled by Powershop, said that TrustPower customers in Tauranga on the Powerco network paid nearly $538 more in the year to November than those with the network's cheapest retailer - Energy Online.
About 70 per cent of Tauranga residents are with the region's most expensive retailer, according to the figures.
The study, which relied on Electricity Authority data, was based on an average household using 8000kWh per annum - close to the nationwide average consumption.
Mr Purches dismissed the figures, saying the way the data was calculated wasn't designed to compare regions, but provided an overall picture. "Trying to do a calculation based on an average household consumption ... provides a wildly distorted picture."
The calculations also did not account for special deals and discounts offered by many companies, Mr Purches said.
There would be very few, if any, customers on the prices quoted, he said. "There are only 5 per cent of our customers on standard pricing."
Powershop's Ari Sargent said there were several reasons customers didn't switch to cheaper suppliers. Photo / Mark Coote
TrustPower's prices were "middle of the road" and not nearly as expensive as they seemed. About 70 per cent of its customers were locked into fixed contracts, he said.
Powershop's Ari Sargent said there were several reasons customers didn't switch to cheaper suppliers, including being locked into a contract. "There are also many customers who are still unaware they can save a considerable amount of money by switching, despite the Government's 'What's my number?' campaign over the last few years. "Some customers sticking with the most expensive retailer are overpaying by more than $650 a year."
Large retailers were the most expensive in 37 of the 45 regions, where there was less competition from smaller players. However, as new entrants pushed into the regions, more customers were expected to switch to a better deal, Mr Sargent said.
Meanwhile, the the average Bay power bill jumped $83 last year - a 3.6 per cent increase above the national average.
