Aurora Energy CEO Richard Fletchers says the company is seeking feedback from customers on a range of changes due to be implemented in 2023.

The company wants to reform its pricing approach, Richard said, and the main changes include phasing in a mix of prices depending on the time of day customers use electricity, changing the proportion of fixed charges so that overall charges are more uniform, and looking at a new option for how capital investment costs are allocated.

“We want to give customers choice about how and when they use electricity,” Richard said.

“The goal is to develop efficient distribution pricing that makes it easier for customers to make choices about how they use the electricity network and make energy-related investments like solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles.”

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The electricity network company supplies electricity to 91,000 properties across Otago and it is proposing pricing incentives that encourage shifting electricity consumption into off-peak periods with ‘time of use’ pricing. 

The electricity lines company wanted to phase in a mix of prices depending on the time of day customers use electricity, which could mean customers would be able to save money by charging their electric vehicle overnight, or setting the dishwasher and washing machine for off-peak times.

This would delay or even avoid network investment and ensure prices can be kept as low as possible for everyone, Richard said.

Customers would be able to save money by charging their electric vehicle overnight, or setting the dishwasher and washing machine for off-peak times.

Richard said for more than 100 years residential electricity prices have largely been based on the amount of electricity a household consumes regardless of when it is used. ‘Time of use’ pricing would give customers more control over the way they use electricity.

Aurora Energy general manager regulatory and commercial Alec Findlater said the organisation is asking people what they think about the proposed changes now, even though some of them won’t be implemented until April 2023, because they want to make sure people understand why the changes are happening and what it means for them.

“Aurora Energy’s distribution charges are only part of a customers’ total electricity bill, and we know that a number of electricity retailers don’t show a breakdown. The distribution pricing changes we’re proposing can benefit customers, so long as they are able to see and react to new price signals,” he said.

“We know that some electricity retailers transparently pass through our charges, while others repackage them as they see fit. The proposed changes we’re consulting on rely on either future prices being transparently passed on to customers and shown on their bills, or electricity retailers and flexibility traders developing innovative services to help customers manage their electricity demand.”

Learn more about the proposal and have your say here.

PHOTOS: Supplied