Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ
A new energy provider wants to shake up things up by offering consumers access to the wholesale electricity market, and is promising full price transparency.
PowerHub said it would replace traditional retailer margins with a wholesale rate plus 10 percent pricing model.
Exposure to the wholesale electricity market may sound risky to volatile prices, but PowerHub said it would offer monthly battery and solar panel plans to allow customers to essentially mitigate the pricing risk.
They would not be the first company to offer access to the wholesale market.
Flick Electric was a notable provider that offered similar access, although it struggled with high market pricing before eventually being sold to Meridian Energy.
Founder Sophia Bristow believed PowerHub would be different with its battery and solar model.
The battery system would be offered on an opt-in monthly payment basis, with members receiving a 15 kilowatt-hour (kWh) EcoWave unit, which would store electricity when prices were low and release it during peak periods or outages.
PowerHub’s Sophia Bristow. Supplied/PowerHub
“The battery acts as a personal energy reservoir and allows households to capture power when it’s nearly free and use it when the grid is under pressure or prices spike,” Bristow said.
PowerHub is looking to raise $650,000 via PledgeMe to bring the concept to market.
It said under its base offering, members would gain access to wholesale electricity prices in real time, including low-price periods that can fall to as little as one to two cents per kilowatt-hour.
“Traditional fixed-price contracts include a built-in ‘insurance premium’ to protect retailers from volatility, but it means households miss out when prices drop,” Bristow said.
“We’re changing that by passing those savings directly back to members.”
Those looking to go further would be able to purchase ground-mounted solar panels and integrate it into the system.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand