QUESTIONS

AND ANSWERS

Saving with PAUA TO THE PEOPLE Why are PAUA TO THE PEOPLE so much cheaper than others? PAUA TO THE PEOPLE are able to keep the costs of your electricity supply so low for three reasons; 1. We have chucked out all the useless fluff that push up the cost of electricity in New Zealand. Stuff like TV adverts, door to door sales people and expensive contact centres. Paua to the People only has what’s needed to give you the same reliable electricity supply you have always had. 2. Our company is custom designed to deliver you the same reliable electricity service for much less. This is why Paua to the People only supplies to homes with smart meters and all communications are by email. 3. And, we do not believe in making obscene profits at the expense of our customers.

How do I know the cost of my home’s electricity is competitive? At PAUA TO THE PEOPLE we believe that you have better things to do than worrying about how competitive your electricity supplier is. Our goal is to keep your lights on and electrical stuff working at a super competitive rate. We invite you to compare what you are paying at any time using the Consumer Powerswitch site located at; www.powerswitch.org.nz/powerswitch

You have two tariffs SIMPLE AS and CHEAP AS. What is the difference between them? CHEAP AS will always be one of the cheapest if not the cheapest electricity tariff in Wellington. For the CHEAP AS tariff all the costs of supplying your home are passed through to you at cost. On top of this we add a small administration charge. SIMPLE AS is also a really cheap way to pay for your electricity. The difference with SIMPLE AS is that you have no exposure to the wholesale electricity market as the prices for your electricity are set on a quarterly basis (to reflect the seasonal nature of wholesale electricity). Price changes are communicated to customers at least one month before they occur.

Are there any risks associated with your pricing? For SIMPLE AS there is no risk as you will be paying a set amount for each kWh of electricity you consume which is set quarterly in advance. For CHEAP AS, we will charge you at the wholesale electricity rate for your electricity. The wholesale electricity market fluctuates every half hour depending upon demand and supply of electricity across NZ. There will always be ups and downs but over the long term you should pay a less than if you were on a fixed price tariff.

Also, if it looks likely that wholesale prices look set to stay high for some time (say because of a drought causing low hydro levels) we will let you know and give you the opportunity to change to the SIMPLE AS tariff. Other costs (distribution and metering) are generally set each year. We will notify you of any increases in these rates by our suppliers.

Which Tariff should I choose? If you are looking for the cheapest way to keep your lights and electrical gizmos working, then the CHEAP AS tariff is definitely the way to go as it should be the cheapest in the long run. Furthermore, with the Cheap As tariff we supply you with usage statistics that will help you better manage your electricity to save even more. If you don’t want to think about electricity again or are worried that the wholesale price of electricity varies every half hour, but want a really cheap price then SIMPLE AS is the tariff you should choose.

How does it work? How do I pay my bill? You will be required to set up and pay your bills by direct debit or electronic payment. Your bills will come out weekly, and we’ll let you know how much they’ll be at least two days before they’re due to be paid. To set up your Direct Debit please use this form.

Are there any extras I’ll be charged for? There are a number of other charges for additional services such as disconnecting or reconnecting your meter. These are all charged at cost. Contact us at [email protected] if you want to know more.

Do I have to read my meter? You will not have to send us meter reads as your energy usage is communicated automatically to us by your smart meter. We may need to send someone out occasionally to inspect your meter, but we’ll let you know if that needs to happen.

Will you ever estimate my bills? Your smart meter collects and communicates once a day the amount of electricity you have consumed for every 30 minute period throughout the day. This means that your bills are based on actual reads not estimates. Occasionally however some data can be lost or temporarily misplaced by the meter. Where this occurs PAUA TO THE PEOPLE will estimate the missing data to complete your bill. Missing data typically affects when you consumed the electricity rather than how much you have consumed. Where possible PAUA TO THE PEOPLE will recalculate your bill once the missing data has been located and refund or charge you for any differences.

Switching my home’s electricity supply to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE Can I switch my home’s electricity supply to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE? We are currently able to supply homes in Wellington. Your home will also need to have a Smart meter. If you are unsure if your home has the right type of meter you can ask us on [email protected]. Be sure to give us the full address or even better supply us with the ICP number (which you can find on your current electricity bill).

Can you supply my business? At the moment PAUA TO THE PEOPLE only supply residential households.

Can you supply my gas too? Sorry – we do not supply gas.

How do I switch my electricity to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE? Switching to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE is very easy and will only take a few minutes. All you need to do is fill in this form. We do the rest. There’s no need to call your current supplier as we will organise all that for you. If you have no unpaid bills or contract, your power can be transferred to us in around 10 working days (depending on your current supplier). They’ll send you a final bill when you switch.

Will I lose power when I switch my home to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE? Your power supply won’t be affected when you switch to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE.

Will it cost me anything to switch my home’s electricity to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE? There is no charge to switch to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE. If your home needs to be connected or reconnected there is a fee to have this carried out for you. We will let you know how much this will cost.

What happens if I've got problems switching? It should be hassle free to switch to PAUA TO THE PEOPLE. If you have any problems or questions you can contact us at [email protected] at any time.

What if I change my mind after signing up? We don’t believe that customers should be forced to stay with an electricity supplier to get special pricing – that is often not all that special – so we won’t tie you into a fixed term contract. If you want to switch to another electricity retailer you can.

Moving house How do I move home with PAUA TO THE PEOPLE? Simply contact us at [email protected] at least a week before, letting us know your new address and the date you are moving in. We'll also need to know the day you want your final reading for your old property. We'll be in contact with you if there's anything more we need.

Do I need to read my meter when I move? As you have a smart meter you will not need to send us a meter read.

When the power will be turned on at my new place? In most cases your new house already has power connected. PAUA TO THE PEOPLE will simply switch it over on the date you give us.

The power at my new house was disconnected. How do I get it back on? If you’ve moved in to your new home and there’s no power, it is possible that it’s just been switched off at the fuse box by the people who moved out. If the power has been disconnected then let us know on [email protected] and we will get it switched back on for you. There may be a charge if we require a technician to visit your property but with smart meters they can often be switched on remotely at no charge. If your new place has been empty or without power for six months or longer, you will need to have an electrician check the house out and give it an Electrical Certificate or Code of Compliance to ensure that it is safe to supply electricity to the property. Contact us once you have completed this.

Miscellaneous Vulnerable or medically dependant customers It’s very important that you let PAUA TO THE PEOPLE know if you or anyone living with you depends on electricity for critical medical support (so that losing electricity could be harmful or dangerous) or would find loss of electricity a clear threat to health or wellbeing due to age, health or disability. You can find out more about your rights on the Electricity Authority’s facts sheets located on their website.

How do you keep my personal information safe? PAUA TO THE PEOPLE holds all your personal information on secure servers behind firewalls.

How do you keep my bank details safe? Our security systems and procedures use industry best practice. We make sure all your personal and financial information is stored securely.

Do you have terms and conditions for customers? You can find our terms and conditions on our website.