On the Power Shift Plan we offer half price weekends. All electricity used between 12am Saturday and 11:59pm Sunday will be half price.

The Power Shift plan is not currently available for existing Pulse Energy customers. However, if you are interested, please contact us to discuss plan options.

The Power Shift plan offers different electricity rates throughout the day (peak and off-peak, night, and half-price weekends).

You can maximise your savings by shifting your power usage to off-peak hours by running appliances at night or during off-peak hours, charging your car (or anything with a battery) overnight, shifting any energy-intensive tasks (using your washing machine or clothes dryer) to Saturday and Sunday. You can find out more about off-peak hours here.

Shifting your power usage away from peak times, not only can help you save money on your power bill, but also contributes to a more sustainable energy future for New Zealand.

This plan is ideal for users who work from home, people who work odd hours, EV owners, night owls and early birds.

Any savings associated with the Power Shift plan will vary depending on your meter setup, how you use electricity overall, and particularly how much usage you shift to the off-peak hours and weekends.

Everyone’s usage is different. However, the more usage you shift off-peak, the more you can save!

You can track your savings online through My Account – our online portal available to Pulse Energy customers to manage your energy account.

The price of electricity changes every 30 minutes. It’s most expensive in a “peak” time during the day - in the morning when people are getting ready for work, and in the evening when people arrive home from work.

During “peak overload” times, such as during a cold snap in winter the ‘peak load’ gets too much for the day-to-day national infrastructure. Everyone wants to use power at the same time as it might be really cold, but not enough electricity can be generated to support us all. So a standby electricity generation plant has to start to prevent the national grid from shutting down. It costs lots of money to start and keep these standby generation plants maintained - only to be started a handful of times a year.

On this plan, you will benefit from variable electricity usage rates during weekdays, as well as lower variable electricity rates from Saturday - Sunday.

Here’s an explanation of Power Shift’s hours:  

• Peak Hours: 7am - 11am and 5pm - 9pm.
  • During these hours, electricity rates are higher due to increased demand. It's best to minimise the usage of high-energy appliances during these times.
• Off-Peak Hours: 11am - 5pm and 9pm - 11pm.
  • During these hours, electricity rates are lower than peak hours. This is a good time to run appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and vacuum cleaners.
• Night Hours: 11pm - 7am.
  • This is the most affordable time to use electricity. A good time to charge EV’s or anything with a battery.
• Half Price Weekends: Saturday 12am - Sunday 11:59pm.
  • All electricity used between Saturday 12am and Sunday 11:59pm is half price. The more electricity usage that you shift into the weekends, the more money you can save.

To find the energy rates for your property on the Power Shift plan, click here and type in your address.

To be eligible for the Power Shift plan you must:

• have an eligible, and actively communicating, electricity smart meter. When you sign up, we'll double-check this and confirm your eligibility.
• be a new residential customer of Pulse Energy.
• be supplied electricity by Pulse Energy at your primary residence.
• satisfy our credit checking criteria.
• be on a standard, single-phase residential connection and not on a private network.

Not sure if your property is eligible? Please get in touch with us here.

The more electricity usage that you shift into the weekends, the more money you can save.

Here are some tips:

• Delaying starting the dishwasher until off-peak times/weekends.
• Scheduling all your clothes washing for the weekend or after 9pm when off-peak rates apply.
• Keeping your heat pump turned off during peak times and switching it on during off-peak hours.