Giving Energy Questions and Answers

Transcription

1 Giving Energy Questions and Answers Giving Energy raising funds for our community How much will I fund raise by joining Giving Energy? We expect that that an average consumer of electricity will raise more than $120 per year. Giving Energy will donate 5% of your electricity payments (excluding GST) to the charity, club, or school of your choice (see below for who you can raise funds for). An average Wellington customer consumes 8,000 kwh of electricity per year. Will it cost me to raise funds for my local cause, school, club or charity? No. Giving Energy does not want you to donate a cent to the funds we raise. All we need is for you to purchase your electricity from us and to pay your bills on time. Giving Energy uses a combination of reduced costs and a slim margin to create the funds we donate. Can I change who I am raising funds for? You can change who you are raising funds for whenever you like by contacting us at service@givingenergy.co.nz. However, Giving Energy calculates the donations at the end of each month - so whoever you are supporting at the end of the month is who you will raise funds for that month. Giving Energy will not pro-rate funds raised to more than one cause in a month. Will I save money on my electricity bill in addition to raising funds for my local cause, school, club or charity? Many customers will be able to save money on their electricity bills. We provide a comparison versus your existing supplier outlining probable savings and how much you can raise for the organisation you want to support. To get a comparison just send a copy of your latest electricity bill to service@givingenergy.co.nz. How can Giving Energy afford to raise funds and still save me money? Giving Energy has deliberately decided to reduce our profit margin to a reasonable level as we believe that profits should not be at the expense of our community. In addition, Giving Energy has eliminated unnecessary costs and kept all other costs to a minimum. This does mean that some service options will not be available (such as some payment methods) but Giving Energy will never compromise on your safety nor on the security of your home s electricity supply. Who will Giving Energy raise funds for? Our objective is to act as a fundraising engine for our community in whatever form that may take. So Giving Energy wants to help raise funds for almost any type of local organisation, cause or charity. Let us know on service@givingenergy.co.nz who or what you are wanting to raise funds for and we will let you know if they qualify. Check out our website for further information. We can also give you some suggestions of causes we are fundraising for if you want to help your community but are not sure who to raise funds for. Does my local cause, school, club or charity need to register with Giving Energy? We would prefer that clubs, schools etc do register with us at some point as this will make it easier to pay them the funds raised. Giving Energy would also like to work with them to help them recruit more supporters using us to raise funds for them.

2 However, you can join Giving Energy and elect to raise funds for a local school, club or charity without getting them registered first. Where the cause is not already registered we may ask you to help us by providing a relevant contact if you are able. When will my local cause, school, club or charity receive the donation from Giving Energy? Giving Energy will calculate monthly how much money to put aside for the causes supported by our customers. To reduce administration costs we will donate twice a year to causes with 10 or more supporters and once per year for those with fewer supporters. Giving Energy can time payments to best meet the needs of the individual cause (for example a team raising funds for a competition can have access to funds raised before they travel) so let us know if you have special requirements. Giving Energy Saving me money Will I save money on my electricity bill by switching to Giving Energy? Many customers will save money on their electricity bills by moving to Giving Energy. We have calculated savings of over $200 per year for some customers but for most, savings are more likely to be up to $100 per year. Some customers may not save much on their electricity bills with us, but remember your current electricity supplier is not also donating around $120 per year to the cause of your choice. As a promise to our customers, Giving Energy will always keep our prices competitive against the standard tariffs of the major electricity retailers. Eliminating costs How will the cost savings made by Giving Energy impact our customers? Giving Energy has looked at what our customers need to have a safe and efficient supply of electricity. Unnecessary costs such as some payment methods and an expensive call centre have been eliminated. This does mean that all communications (including bills) between Giving Energy and its customers is by . Why can I not call Giving Energy? A contact centre would be a major expense which would not allow Giving Energy to raise the level of funds for the community that we want to. Giving Energy will seek to respond to all s within 24 hours but expect us to generally be quicker than this. The address for all non-emergency requests is service@givingenergy.co.nz or use one of the buttons on the Contact Us page. What if I need to get in touch urgently? Giving Energy understands that on very rare occasions it is important to be able to get in touch with us urgently. The following address (urgent@givingenergy.co.nz) will be closely monitored to provide you with support when you need it 24/7. Can I Join Giving Energy? Who can join Giving Energy? At the present time Giving Energy only supplies electricity to residential customers in the Wellington region. To join you will also need to have a smart electricity meter. If you are unsure what meter you have contact us on ask@givingenergy.co.nz as we can check remotely.

3 Can you supply my business? At present we aren t supplying businesses. If you would like to register your business s interest in joining Giving Energy please us on ask@givingenergy.co.nz and we will keep in touch if our offer changes in the future. Does Giving Energy supply gas? Sorry we can only supply your household electricity. What kind of meter do I need? To join Giving Energy, you ll need to have a smart electricity meter. To reduce costs Giving Energy has designed our systems to only work with smart meters so that we can avoid the complications and costs associated with estimating electricity usage and manual meter reads. Unfortunately this means that Giving Energy is unable to supply your electricity if you currently have a manual or pre-paid meter. How do I get a smart meter? Over half of New Zealand homes have already had a smart meter installed by their current supplier - if you are unsure please ask@givingenergy.co.nz and we will check for you. If you do not have a smart meter unfortunately we are unable to help you have one installed (because of the way our systems have been configured). We suggest that you contact your current supplier to see if they will install a smart meter at your property. Please register your interest in Giving Energy at ask@givingenergy.co.nz if you would like us to keep in touch. How do I join Giving Energy How do I switch to Giving Energy? Switching to Giving Energy is easy. The first stage is to send us a copy of your current electricity bill(s). We can check if you have a smart meter and also provide you with a personalised quote detailing probable savings and the amount of funds you can raise. Then all you will need to do is fill out the 1 page application form and send it back to us at ask@givingenergy.co.nz. And that it. You won t need to contact your current supplier. As long as there are no unpaid bills or contract, your power can be transferred to us within 10 working days (depending on how fast your current supplier switches you over). Your current supplier will send you a final bill based on the meter reading when you switch. Does it cost anything to switch to Giving Energy? There is no charge to switch your electricity supply to Giving Energy. Will I lose power when I switch? Your power supply will not be switched off when you join Giving Energy.

4 What if I change my mind after signing up? Giving Energy will not tie you into a contact so you can leave us at any time you choose, at no cost to you. However any funds you have raised in the current period (since the last payment to your chosen cause) will be lost. Is there any risk to my electricity supply if I move to Giving Energy? There is no greater risk to your home s electricity supply from joining Giving Energy as you will continue to receive exactly the same power, from exactly the same source, over exactly the same wires. Moving house with Giving Energy I m moving house can I get my electricity from Giving Energy Yes. As long as the home you are moving to is in the Wellington region, and the new home has a smart meter you can remain a Giving Energy customer. If your new property doesn t have a smart meter we can help you find another supplier. What do I need to do to move house with Giving Energy? Simply send an to service@givingenergy.co.nz to let us know your new address, when you are moving in and the date you want a final read at your old address. We will need at least one week s notice of your impending move. What if there is no power at the new address? If you ve moved in to your new home and there s no power, it is possible that it s just been switched off at the fuse box by the people who moved out. If the power has been disconnected then let us know on urgent@givingenergy.co.nz and we will get it switched back on for you. There may be a charge if we require a technician to visit your property (charges can be found on our website) but with smart meters they can often be switched on remotely at no charge. If your new place has been empty or without power for six months or longer, you will need to have an electrician check the house out and give it an Electrical Certificate or Code of Compliance to ensure that it is safe to supply electricity to the property. Who are Giving Energy Giving Energy is a Wellington based independent electricity retailer dedicated to raising funds for all the local organisations and causes important to our community. We are 100% locally owned and operated. Giving Energy charges What energy tariffs do Giving Energy offer? At Giving Energy we ensure that our tariffs are competitive with the major electricity retailers. To see how competitive we are, please send a copy of your current electricity bill(s) to ask@givingenergy.co.nz and we will reply with a quote outlining how much you should be able to save each year and how much you would be raising every year for the organisation or charity of your choice.

5 Do you have low user tariffs? If the amount of electricity you typically use is below 8,000 kwh per year then our quote will be for a low user tariff to ensure that you are not disadvantaged by a higher daily rate. Giving Energy Bills How often will you read the meter? Giving Energy reads your meter remotely every day. This means that you will no longer have estimated bills nor will you need to read your meter and send it to us. When will I be billed? To make it easier for you to budget Giving Energy will send you your bill for the previous month s electricity on or about the 5 th of every month. You will have 10 days following dispatch of your invoice (via ) to pay your bill. How will I pay my bill? Giving Energy offers a number of ways to pay your bills including; Fixed payments (monthly or fortnightly Direct debit (monthly) Internet banking Phone banking How do I set up my direct debit? To set up your direct debit print out the direct debit authority form we sent to you with your quote. If you need a direct debit for us at ask@givingenergy.co.nz. Scan it and it to ask@givingenergy.co.nz, or Post it in to us at; Giving Energy Ltd, PO Box 17034, Karori, Wellington 6012 Do I get a discount if I pay on time? Giving Energy automatically discounts your bill by 10% each month to reward your payment of your electricity bill, in full on time each month. What happens if I don t pay my bill on time? Unfortunately if you don t pay your bill on time you will have to pay the amount of the original bill without the 10% discount. Customers whose Direct Debit has defaulted because of insufficient funds will also lose their direct debit discount. What happens if I don t have enough funds for my direct debit? If you do not have enough funds in your account for Giving Energy to collect payment we will contact you to provide payment by other electronic means. What happens if I do not pay my bill? Giving Energy will send a reminder if you haven t paid your bill. We will disconnect customers who do not pay their bill within 6 weeks of receiving their bill. Where necessary Giving Energy will pass the details of an unpaid account onto our debt collectors. It is important to Giving Energy that you pay your account on time so that we can keep our costs to a minimum and maximise the funds raised for our community.

6 What other charges are there? Giving Energy do have a number of other charges like for example if we need to send a technician out to re-connect the meter. We will let you know of any charges before you incur them. Click here for a full schedule of charges. Miscellaneous Vulnerable or medically dependant customers It s very important that you let Giving Energy know if you or anyone living with you depends on electricity for critical medical support (so that losing electricity could be harmful or dangerous) or would find loss of electricity a clear threat to health or wellbeing due to age, health or disability. You can find out more about your rights on the Electricity Authority s facts sheets located on their website. How do you keep my personal information safe? Giving Energy holds all your personal information on secure servers behind firewalls. How do you keep my bank details safe? Our security systems and procedures use industry best practice. We make sure all your personal and financial information is stored securely. Do you have terms and conditions for customers? You can find our terms and conditions here.