5 EV Power Plans For Electric Vehicle Owners In NZ

Owning an electric vehicle in NZ is made more affordable, thanks to the Clean Car Discount. In line with this, Power companies in NZ also offer special power plans for EV users to help ease their monthly power bills.

As you know, charging is an essential component for EVs. People will have to move from spending on increasing fuel prices to possibly spending more on their power bills. While this may still end up being cheaper than a conventional gas car in the long run, it's still best to optimize your EV charging times to further reduce the possible impact on your power budget.

In this case, going with a power plan with provisions for EV charging is the best way to go. Here are some options you can look into when it comes to EV charging in NZ.

Contact Energy

Contact Energy offers EV owners their ‘Good Nights’ plan, which offers three hours of free power starting at 9PM 'til midnight, letting you relax if you choose to plug your vehicle at those times.

Contact Energy also provides an app that can help track usage, which helps consumers make adjustments as necessary. In addition to this, you can also add broadband plans for just $69.99 per month.

Their Good Nights plan is available for residential customers with a communicating smart meter. They’re currently running fixed term and fixed energy rates on this deal until November 30, 2022.

Note that appliances running on natural gas and bottled gas are not included in the free period, such as hot water heating.

Read: What Is The Average Power Bill In New Zealand?

Genesis Energy

Genesis Energy offers their own evening plan, as they believe that electricity rates are lower by up to 50% in the evening. The Energy EV plan can help you charge your EV, run heat pumps, stream or play all night, and more at a 50% reduced rate from 9PM to 7AM. 

Under this deal, eligible users can also lock in this Energy EV plan for 12 months while also being eligible for a discount of up to 11%  when this deal is combined with fuels and if customers use Genesis’ eBilling and direct debit options.

To avail of this special plan, you will need a communicating smart meter with your plug-in electric car.

Read: EV Charging: How To Charge Your Electric Vehicle At Home

Meridian Energy

Meridian Energy's electricity come from 100% renewable sources from wind, water, and sun. As such, they believe their values and power plans are a good option for EV owners.

Meridian’s Electric Car power plan is easily available to residential customers who own a plug-in EV. Under this plan, you can get:

• Rates designed specifically for EV-owning households
• Cheaper power prices at night starting from 9 PM in certain networks
• Guaranteed rates for three years
• A free smart meter install for customers who don’t have one yet

Customers under the Vector, Wellington Electricity, Orion, Powerco, Aurora, or Unison networks will be able to get cheaper night rates from 9PM to 7AM. 

Meridian’s Electric Car Plan offers to arrange a possible deal with customers who are outside the six main networks listed above and for customers who may not want a day/night plan due to higher power consumption in the morning.

Read: How To Avoid Getting Overcharged On Your NZ Power Bill

Mercury Energy

Mercury Energy has their EV Fuel Package, which is available for residential customers who own a plug-in EV or have a long term lease for one. This provides them with 20% off on their electricity usage in the evenings, between 9PM and 7AM.

This plan is eligible for two years for both home and back.

Powershop

While Powershop doesn’t directly state that they have an actual separate plan for EV owners, they do advertise that they can help with finding the best times to charge an EV.

Interested people can also request the best rates for their EV within two working days, which can be something worth checking out here. They also offer Guaranteed Savings, which lets you compare your old Power bill to that of Powershop's and gives you credit if you didn't get any savings.

Read: The Best Power Deals In NZ For Long-Term Savings

How to make the most of your EV Power Plan:

Contact Energy has offered some tips to maximise your electric car plan. Of course, as many of these tend to lean on behavioural and usage changes, these can be applied to any Power provider you choose:

Shift to save

Shifting a bulk of activities that consume power such as washing, drying, dishwashing, and vacuuming in the evening from 9 PM to midnight, can help users save more on their power. This is also the best time to start charging the EV and other electronic devices.

Read: How To Read Your NZ Power Bill

Get used to tracking

Tracking electric consumption is now made easier as power plans may come with an app that customers can use. Getting into the habit of looking at an online graph every now and then will give a better idea of the best times to use big-ticket items such as washing machines and heaters/air-conditioners.

Use timers

Nowadays, many appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers have start-delay settings while things like air-conditioners and heaters can be scheduled to run for a daily start and stop time.

Make use of bundles

While this doesn’t directly correlate to power consumption, making use of Power bundles like Contact’s broadband bundle or even the ones offering power and fuel bundles, can be a good way to cut costs down on two utilities at the same time. 

Get the best Power deals in NZ today!

So if you’re able to find a better option for your needs, such as one that offers a deal that can help reduce consumption when you charge your EV, glimp can help you make the switch in just a few easy steps. Try glimp’s power comparison tool today and start saving on your power bill!