Electric Kiwi has a smart way to help you save even more money. We call it the Hour of Power. It’s simple really, you choose 60 minutes of off-peak power that suits your lifestyle. All electricity used during that hour is free each day! The off-peak time slots are between 9am-5pm and 9pm-7am and you can adjust your free hour each day to suit your power needs!

Using electricity during the Hour of Power is not only good for your bank balance, it’s also good for the country.

Here’s why

In New Zealand, electricity generators monitor in real-time how much electricity is required across the nation. They then generate that amount of electricity to send to homes and businesses.

Around 80% of the electricity generated in New Zealand is from renewable sources, such as hydro, geothermal and wind. However, sometimes there is not enough renewable electricity to meet demand during ‘peak’ electricity use hours (such as 7-9am and 6-9pm when most people are showering, heating their homes and cooking), especially during a cold snap. This means expensive, and non-renewable, gas or coal-powered plants may need to start up and run for an hour or two during the peak – increasing the price of electricity.

Spreading the country’s electricity use more evenly throughout the day will help to reduce these spikes in demand, and the overall price of the electricity. This will send a signal to generators to reduce even further the proportion of non-renewable power used to power New Zealand.