AWARDS FINALIST: Ecotricity
Ecotricity is committed to making New Zealand’s electricity grid 100 per cent renewable by actively promoting the development of new solar farms, wind farms and residential solar to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and bring down the cost of electricity.
Not content with being Toitū carbon zero certified since it started operations nine years ago, the firm took the bold step in March to push beyond neutrality, and is now the country’s first, and only, Toitū Climate Positive certified electricity retailer.
Climate Positive – Toitū’s highest certification – means Ecotricity only purchases energy from specific wind, hydro and solar generation sites. All gases associated with the full lifecycle of those generation sites are measured, and any emissions that cannot be avoided – such as construction, maintenance and end-of-life decommissioning – are offset by purchasing carbon credits.
The certification also requires Ecotricity to purchase 125 per cent verified carbon credits, and the retailer also contributes the equivalent of a further 75 per cent of its total emissions offset by supporting local environmental and social projects.
Consumers are taking note. In the past 12 months Ecotricity has been NZ’s fastest growing electricity retailer.
Certification
Ecotricity offers climate positive certified electricity to industrial, commercial, SME and residential customers.
Its Toitū climate positive certification for its wind, solar and hydro products has been measured against the United Nations-based protocol ISO 14067 standard, which exceeds the Scope 2 quality criteria for market-based reporting method and is approved by RE100.
This means that for businesses that measure their carbon emissions through carbonreduce, carbonzero, RE100 or other emission schemes, Ecotricity’s climate positive certified electricity can completely pre-offset all greenhouse gas emissions related to their electricity consumption.
Products
Ecotricity is the leading provider of electricity to solar customers and has about 20 per cent share of that market. Some 47 per cent of all new monthly solar customers switch to Ecotricity for grid supply. It says it is the first retailer to measure and offset all associated emissions with rooftop solar, and the energy it purchases from its solar customers is supplied to the rest of its client base.
With 65 per cent of its residential and small commercial customers having solar installed, the excess supply in summer meets up to 26 per cent of customer demand; over the year this equates to 6 per cent of all supply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
For residential customers, its ‘ecoSAVER’ energy plan provides off-peak pricing overnight and all weekend, reducing energy costs for those needing to charge EVs.
Corporate customers receive a range of reports through Ecotricity’s commercial reporting portal, providing information on consumption by location and ICP, network and metering charges, and carbon emissions avoided.
Customer satisfaction
Ecotricity has recently reinstated a monthly Net Promoter Score. Its first score was an encouraging 36 – well above the industry average of -14 in the Consumer NZ survey and a sharp improvement from its previous reading of 21 in May 2019.
It says it retention rate is also impressive, which it attributes to its unique product and the service improvements it has made.
Since January 2022, Ecotricity has been on a mission to be the leading voice on EVs, and to educate and showcase their many benefits.
During Cyclone Gabrielle it delivered an EV to a customer who had been without power for five days. Using the EV’s vehicle-to-load capabilities restored power to the family’s home, and further showcased the rapid innovation underway.
Ecotricity aims to continue to find ways to help consumers live a more sustainable life to achieve the goal of decarbonisation.
Toitū Envirocare chief executive Teressa Betty says it has set “an incredible standard and benchmark” for other electricity providers.
The Energy Retailer of the Year Award category is sponsored by EDMI