February 2025 | Grey Power Rotorua

C Bavister

Secretary

February Ramblings

We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year and managed to fit some time in with friends and whanau. As the summer rambles on many of us are recovering from visitors, Christmas cake and the endless rounds of dishes. Lovely for the visit, but nice when they go.

We have had the report from the commission of inquiry into the emergency housing “hang over” from Covid. I know that this is s great concern to many of us and likewise many of us made submissions to the Commissioner. A fair decision was reached which will see the motels used as emergency accommodation all closed by Christmas 2025. I have recently read that in many American cities there is no homeless, they just put them in jail. Visions of the Victorian workhouse.

This year we hope to bring a range of forums on matters that are important to you, our members. At a national level work continues with the relevant agencies on fair superannuation policies, health care access, elective surgery waiting lists and the cost and access to primary health care, as well investigating rest home regulations.

With February upon us it is the hottest month of the year. Try not to go out in the middle of the day, wear a hat, drink plenty of water and use sunscreen.

Keep well and enjoy the warmer weather.

Powerswitch.org.nz

Editor

Why is my Power Bill so High?

1. Understand your bill
Take a good look at your bill to see if the higher charge is due to power you’ve used or other charges. It might be that it includes an unpaid amount from an earlier bill or a fee for paying it late. It may also include disconnection or reconnection fees.

Your bill could be an estimate based on your past power usage. If so, do your own meter reading and see if your power company will reissue your bill using the actual reading.

It could also be that your previous bills were based on estimates, which were lower than the power you actually used. If this bill follows an actual reading, you could be catching up and paying for power you’ve used but not yet paid for over previous months.

There’s also a chance your meter isn’t working correctly or has been read wrong.

2. Look at your power usage
There are many factors that could be responsible for your household using more power over the last month. Here are some to consider.

You’re heating or cooling your home more because of a change in the weather.
You’ve got more people using your home. Did you have visitors staying? Is there a new baby?
You’re spending more time at home. Perhaps you’ve started working from home or retired.
You’ve added something to your home, like a power-hungry appliance, spa or swimming pool.
You’ve got a faulty appliance, such as a leaking water heater or an old fridge out in the shed that’s started playing up. An electrician can check your appliances to see if they could be causing your high bills.

3. Ask you power company why your power bill is so high
If you’ve looked at your bill to try and understand the high charge, but can’t see anything obvious, and there haven’t been any changes in your household to explain the higher usage, contact your power company.

You could ask them:

to explain why the power bill is higher than other months
if you‘re on the best power plan for how you use power
if there are other ways you could be paying that might make it easier to pay your power bill on time. Some companies will deduct a regular weekly or fortnightly payment, so payments are evened out and you don’t face such a big bill each month.

4. Reduce how much power you’re using
If your high power bill is down to how much power you’re using, check out these articles on how to use less.

5. Switch to a cheaper power plan
All power is the same, so you might as well be paying as little as you can for it. Powerswitch can help you check you’re on the cheapest power plan for you. Those who use it, save an average of $400 a year.

6. Complain to Utilities Disputes
Utilities Disputes is a free service that can help if you have a problem with your power company. For more info about the process, check out this article.

Note

Grey Power members can get discounted electricity from Grey Power Electricity (they supply gas and broadband as well). Most households will save money if they swap. This is shown in that 72% of the Grey Power Rotorua households are with Grey Power Electricity. We recommend that you ask for a quote before you commit yourself to ensure that you get the best deal. Just call them on 0800 473 976 and have a current electricity invoice handy.

Malwarebytes Lab

Editor

Rotorua Lakes Council

Age Concern

3 Short Rules of Data Privacy

Less location sharing. Only when you want it, only from those you trust, and never in the background, 24/7, for your apps.
More accountability. If companies can’t respect your data, respect yourself by dropping their products.
No more data deals. That fast-food app offers more than just $4 off a combo meal, it creates a pipeline into your behavioural data

Renewal of Membership for 2025

The office is open again and the volunteers are ready to help you. Although your membership renewal is not due until the first of April, you can renew it now. This will ease the workload on the staff during the peak time. If you are paying at the office at this time, you won't have to queue either. The invoices will be sent out in the middle of March to those who haven't renewed yet.

Waste Directory

The Rotorua Lakes Council has published a Waste Directory which can be downloaded. It contains eleven pages of information about what to do with waste items, i.e. lightbulbs, medications. It is an excellent reference for the items we don't dispose of often.

Staying Safe Driving Course

We are holding a “staying safe driving course” on the 27th of Feb and 27th of March at St Johns church Starts at 9.30am.

Staying Safe is a free, classroom-based refresher workshop for senior road users. Age Concern runs these workshops in partnership with Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

During the course participants will re-familiarise themselves with traffic rules and safe driving practices as well as increase their knowledge about other transport options available to help keep them mobile for as long as possible, whether behind the wheel or when they stop driving.

The free interactive workshop runs for around 4 hours, with morning tea and lunch provided.

If you would like to attend phone Age Concern on 07 347 1539 to register your interest or to seek further information.