Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Return of the Power Pand blog

Dear All,

Sincerest apologies for the distinct lack of updates, but that'll change from today onward.

Now, for the news:

The latest campaign to find out 'your number' may well be worth checking out. A word of caution though: make sure you take all the factors into consideration!

For instance, would you get cheaper power all year round? Do they factor line charges into the rates? Do they factor GST into the rates?
You see, it may seem as if they give you cheaper rates, but there may be things like line charges and GST that just get added on top; and this may result in a larger overall bill. Buyer beware!

The Connector blog over at Stuff.co.nz gives a bit of information on a couple that built a wind turbine to power their home, and are returning power to the grid. Now it's good to be able to generate your own electricity, but charging the transmission people for it is even better!
So how much do they get paid? Around $300 every month.
But before everyone hails this as the next great step in power savings, have a look at how much they spent: about $31,000!
Ignoring the costs of maintenance, it would take about 8-and-a-half years for it to pay for itself, and this doesn't include any interest they might need to pay back if they took a loan. And imagine trying to get consent for a turbine on top of a 10-metre pole!

But, if they're making good savings, all power to them!

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