Hi Jo, I think you are right and it does incorporate service charges, because I’ve never had a separate service charge after several months of being connected to PowerShop.
I am from NSW and with Powershop since May 2015. I can confirm the volatility in pricing, just about each time I check the web, the price is different. Over the one year period I noticed the cheapest prices around April and June. I also can confirm that they have an all-in-one price, the Unit price includes the energy and the ‘daily supply cost’ (which in NSW is around $1.50), I never paid for anything else then the Units I bought.
So, let’s say you use 10 Units (10 kWh) per day, that means they’ll have to divide the daily supply cost by 10. The Unit price will increase by 15 cent ($1.50 / 10). But if you use 100 Units a day, the price will be a lot lower as they only have to add 1.5 cent ($1.50 / 100).
Mid June this year I received an email from Powershop stating that “…NSW distributors have increased network and metering costs…” and therefore they will have to increase the prices from 1st July. I call this great customer relations! Of course I topped up my account before end of June.
I am more than happy with Powershop and could reduce the average price over a year by more then 20%.
On top of that we know it is ALL GREEN ENERGY!
Another advantage of Powershop (at least in NSW) if I refer someone to Powershop and this person makes the switch, both parties get $75 worth of electricity. Just let me know if you’re ready to switch, I am happy to make a referral for you 
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Thanks @meo - have already switched, though! Just waiting for it all to be processed, which seems to be taking some time.
I moved to Powershop about two months ago. I also have solar. I can’t find any info about my solar on the app and I’ve emailed about this. I have a bi-directional meter and send them the figures for what goes into and out of the grid, so there should be data to draw from.
I really think its value will become apparent when I get a smart meter that takes readings every 30 minutes.
What I do know is that my electricity unit prices are much higher than my parents’ unit prices (they don’t have solar and use way more power than I do). So that per unit price goes up if you are using less power.
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What do you mean by it is all green energy Meo?
You can choose between green or not green power, and the prices are very different (much higher for green power).
i have been using powershop for over 2 years. The bills are quite transparent and you can see you usage on a daily basis. They send a weekly summary, with graphs of your usage and the phone app is terrific. I could never understand my old origin bills and dealing with origin was a total nightmare.
Green power is available but is more expensive. From time to time powershop offer small amounts of power at reduced prices, which is worth taking advantage of.
My understanding is that Powershop delivers 100% green energy and that the more expensive version contains a percentage that is used to creating more green energy sources. But of course I could be wrong.
I checked on the Powershop website and found those two bits of information in the ‘Questions?’ section that may support my comment:
“First of all, Greenpeace ranked Powershop as Australia’s greenest power company (2014).”
“Powershop is backed by Meridian Energy, Australasia’s largest 100% renewable energy producer with no investments in fossil fuel resources.”
Actually… maybe I got that wrong and mixed up a couple of things. In the same Questions? section you can find this one:
“Powershop is Australia’s first and only 100% carbon neutral electricity retailer. To find out more about what this means here is a short video.” Link to the video
Hope this helps and sorry if I was wrong.
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We use Red Energy. By my calculations they are cheaper, 100% Australian and every ounce of energy I used is matched by the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme. Power shop look to me as if they are a political fund raiser. I think there activities are dishonest. Caveat emptor.
I find Powershop really useful in our share house situation. No surprise power bills - pre-purchase and monitoring through the app means no nasty surprises for anyone.
Is anyone here part of the NSW Solar Scheme? @apotter is talking tips over on this thread: Are you part of the NSW solar bonus scheme?
I changed to Powershop 2 years ago. I changed as they support renewables and aren’t working to undermine climate policies.
It takes a bit of adjusting to as it is all online. I have to ensure and choose green energy as it’s easy to mistakenly buy fossil fuel based electricity.
I now like it and like that I can purchase cheaper energy when it becomes available to use later. I gave solar panels and its easy to use credits too.
I would recommend it. The telephone support is very good too.
Hi there, I’ve been using Powershop for 18 months, I am in Sydney - easy and great value. I was concerned about not using an Aussie company but the energy retailers in NSW do nothing but ‘gold plate’ their assets with taxpayer money from the state govt and pass on the ‘cost’ to the consumer, do nothing positive for the consumer. The Powershop app challenges you to use less power and my bills have never been cheaper. No complaints from me.
Hope this helps,
Kerry
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Yes, I have to agree with your last comment. Powershop is great if you enjoy checking your power use, buying power during the month and monitoring you use. I have been using it for 7 months and our power charges have definitely gone down. The thing that annoys me about Powershop is their documentation. Instead of a normal, 'This is how much you have used, this is how much power you have purchased, these are your concessions (solar power etc) so the total you owe is $xx. I end up with multiple documents listing purchases, payments etc. Sometimes I pay the bill (by BPay) near the end of the month adding in the extra for the rest of the month. Then I get an account showing how much I owe but when I check on-site I am in credit. I found it a bit annoying although I guess I have got used to it now. I certainly agree with their intention to provide cheaper power.
I switched to Powershop about 5 months ago - largely because they were using green channels to source their power. Yes, it’s more expensive than the majors - but not much - but I really like the regular emails (with offers) and updates on power usage. I find the team helpful to work with and am happy to have made the switch
I have been with Powershop for about nine months and am very satisfied, as you mentioned a bit difficult adjusting to the online system and but once you master it, it’s fine, also noticed they are very competitive. They have a good Smart phone app. I support their ethical approach to energy,
We’ve been with PS for about 12 months. Last month, we had a smart meter installed, but are still waiting for it to ‘come online’. A little frustrating, as I can’t enter a manual meter read - the smart meter replaced three separate meters, and the new readings won’t match in any way with the old. PS have told us that it can take up to 20 business days before we’ll see the smart meter data.
Other than that, very happy with the way they operate, their customer service, their website functionality, and their smartphone app.
I have been with Powershop for about a year and very happy with them. I love that I am not contributing to more carbon which is very important to me. I think it is a lot cheaper to especially if you buy deals like future packs. It does take a while to understand the online system but easy once you work it out. I love buying power in advance and not having to worry about huge bills at the end of the quarter. Highly recommend it.
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I have been with Powershop since January 2015. I have had an enormous improvement in my bills, even though the general cost of electricity continues to rise. I am an oldie so did have trouble understanding how to make it work for me, but I can ring the 1800 number at any time, always get to talk to a young friendly person who takes the time to listen. A couple of times, I have had my bill reduced during a call because I have missed out on a special!
I must explain that I arranged from the beginning that I pay them $50 each pension day so I alwys have a credit. This means that I can take advantage of specials if I am quick to pick up they are there. In winter I pay extra to cover the split system use. I have a smart meter but it is not working so I read it for two months and the meter reader gives them the reading every third month.
I’ve had a response from PS about our new smart meter. Apparently they are only receiving half of the meter data, but are pursuing the issue with the metering provider. I’m told the issue should be resolved this week.
