Electricity - Anyone Heard of, or with Powerclub?

skullster704 on 07/04/2019 - 15:09

Heard a radio ad for these guys the other day https://www.powerclub.com.au/

They claim to sell you electricity at “wholesale rates”, for an annual membership of $39, a daily access rate of 0.75c per day (plus GST), and the initial deposit of a “Power Bank” (reads like a tailored financial buffer to allow for AEMO spot rate changes).

They claim that a typical power bank amount will be between $40 and $80 per 1000kWh of annual usage ($400 in my case), and that when you leave the Powerbank balance is refundable.

They have all the required authorisations to sell electricity (https://www.aer.gov.au/retail-markets/authorisations/public-…), and an ACN, so seem legit.

Living in SA, where we get ripped for our electricity prices, any saving is a good one, and we are looking into solar at the moment (we haven’t had the cash for the capital expense since we moved in). This seems a reasonable way to make savings too.

My question is, has anyone used these guys? Do you have a favourable (or otherwise) opinion?

Home & Garden

Related Stores

powerclub.com.au
powerclub.com.au

Comments

  • serpserpserp on 07/04/2019 - 15:47

    and an ACN, so seem legit.

    An ACN! Well by all means take my money! ;)

    • skullster704 on 07/04/2019 - 16:03

      I was meaning the AER authorisation, but thanks for your input

  • gooddealmate on 07/04/2019 - 15:55

    Price spikes of upto $15 per kWh puts me off this. Too many variables and too much risk for my liking.

    Edit, after checking this, it seems QLD prices don't seem to fluctuate too much. Usually around $85-$90 per mWh, or about .85 of a cent per kWh which pretty much matches up with their .76c + Gst per kWh. So first impressions, they're only making money on the daily rate and the membership fee.

    Hmmm, certainly an interesting pricing policy.

    Still a little risky imo as wouldn't take much for a natural disaster to take down part of the power supply on a hot day and the price could be crazy for a long period.

  • Diji1 on 07/04/2019 - 16:05
    -3

    Every other scam artist that operates in the privatised electricity market is also a legal business.

    Including the 100% foreign owned monopoly SA Power Networks that just announced a $40 increase to the average annual bill ($120 for small business), a figure that is probably way to low given it's source.

    Why would you take that as a sign of trust given the current circumstances that have gone on for 21 years now?

    Did you vote Liberal because you believed their story for idiots that electricity prices would drop despite this never happening before?

    The only sane step at this point is vote Greens to dismantle the privatised electricity disaster which is the only sane thing to do for the good of the states economy and citizens.

    Or just keep voting LibLab and lose thousands of dollars while the state dies around you just like the last 21 years.

  • outlander on 07/04/2019 - 16:16

    Sounds like it could be an alright deal, if you knew when the aemo rate spikes were. You'd want to have some sort of alert system, so that when power exceeded X amount you could scale back to just the essentials

    • gooddealmate on 07/04/2019 - 16:32

      You do, you get an app that alerts you to when prices are peaking.

  • Ocker on 07/04/2019 - 17:50

    Boy, you certainly get screwed on electricity prices in SA. In Vic I pay only 16.3c per kWh after the 43% pay on time discount

    • Soluble on 07/04/2019 - 18:52

      You mean standard rate, rather than the penalty rate for not paying on time?

      • Ocker on 08/04/2019 - 18:54

        I am sure that post made sense to you when you typed it - but it loses me!~

        • Soluble on 08/04/2019 - 18:56

          43% pay on time discount is not a discount, it's a standard rate. It's a load of sh*t like if you pay your credit card on time you get a 22% discount..

          • Ocker on 08/04/2019 - 19:00

            @Soluble: Really! So if I pay my bill a couple of days after the due date I will still get the amount payable reduced by 43%?
            Thanks - I will try it and if I come unstuck I will come to you to pay the difference?

            • kusama on 08/04/2019 - 19:10

              @Ocker: 30%+ pay on time are just a dirty practice. It’s a bit better than normal price but will screw over people who may find it hard to pay, sure reward but not overcharge people struggling. Power companies will get forced to stop these at some point. Lumo’s retentions price is around that price standard then I think it’s 5% pay on time.

            • Soluble on 08/04/2019 - 19:30

              @Ocker: You've proven the point, it's a penalty for paying late not really a reward for paying on time. What happens when you pay anything after the due date? They're not rewarding you, they're fooling you. I don't have a pay on time discount and my rate is certainly not 43% more than yours.

              No pay on time discount for me and 18.03c kWh. Your rate pre discount must be 29c?

              Then it's about what's your daily supply charge. Because SA has the lowest supply charge and Vic the highest.

    • eeveee on 23/09/2019 - 17:35

      @Ocker - That's so cheap! I'm moving to Melbourne now and struggling to find those prices, mind if I ask who you are with?

      • Ocker on 24/09/2019 - 08:53

        Alinta for both electricity and gas

        • eeveee on 25/09/2019 - 16:52

          Thanks @Ocker!

  • AMOKS on 29/04/2019 - 15:44

    Did you end up going with Powerclub or find any more information? Currently looking at them also in SA

  • Matt P on 27/02/2020 - 14:34

    Anyone else used them?

    I just signed up. Will see how it goes i suppose

    • BadBreath on 16/07/2020 - 18:26

      How did it go?

    • jedimaster on 29/07/2020 - 12:14

      how are things with Powerclub? any feedback please

  • aneil915 on 20/07/2020 - 12:24

    Does anyone have any feedback on Powerclub? I'm in VIC and am currently looking at them.

    • Sam Spade on 11/08/2020 - 09:48

      I was paying 17.85 cents per kWh plus network and supply charges.

      The wholesale spot rate with Powerclub has varied between 1 cent and 15 cents per kWh over the past week. Average is around 7 cents per kWh.

      You can download the Powerclub app (iOS/Android) to see the real time and daily wholesale spot rates. Today it was 1 cent from 3-5:00am (think of your refrigerator which runs constantly) and increased to 7 cents at 8:00am before reducing again. At the moment it tends to decrease during the day and spike again around 6:00pm.

      You pay the same network and supply charges as any other supplier.

      In addition Powerclub charge a $40 annual member fee ($80 for business) plus a daily service fee of $0.28.6 cents plus a charge of $0.84 per kWh used.

      So rough estimate … $12 per month (powerclub daily + annual fee) to access wholesale spot rates + 1 cent per kWh (Powerclub surcharge).

      We save around $25 per month based our usage. YMMV

      • harveyworld on 27/10/2020 - 15:05

        Interesting…thanks for feedback

        Just had a notification today that my 2 year fixed price of 17.85 cents per kWh is coming to an end too.

        I've been on the government comparison site and struggling to find anything close to this. I didn't realise it was such a good deal as I thought electricity prices were supposed to be reducing in cost?

        The new recommended deal for me is currently showing as Powerclub,
        My only concern with Powerclub is that our household usage is fairly static at around 16kw per day (5800kw per year) with the bulk of this consumed between say 4pm and 10pm each day with not much option to significantly deviate from this.

        I assume Powerclub comes in to its own where you have a certain level of flexibility over your consumption. i.e. switching off appliances in high demand times and taking advantage in low cost times?

        Just wondered if the app is something that you are now watching closely and if it has influenced any change of habits in how you manage your usage?

        My preference would be a fixed fee set and forget option like before, but these appear to be thin on the ground.
        I am interested to know what (if any) are the shortcomings to this type of deal?

        Thanks

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