The Electricity Brief: Episode 3: Billy - the Authority's new free comparison and switching tool

In this episode, Carl speaks to Sarah Gillies, Chief Executive about Billy, the Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko's new free comparison and switching tool. They discuss how Billy helps New Zealanders compare power plans with confidence and makes it easier for households to take control of their power costs. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed listening. For more information, please visit ea.govt.nz 

The Electricity Brief is brought to you by the Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko, an organisation who is responsible for the governance and regulation of New Zealand’s electricity industry. 

Find us on LinkedIn. 

Visit billy.govt.nz to see what you could save.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Kilda, welcome to the Electricity Brief. Each episode we bring you a conversation with the people that are shaping New Zealand's electricity market. We talk about what's happening and why it matters. And today we're joined by Sarah Gillies, the Chief Executive for the Electricity Authority, to talk us through Billy, the Authority's new comparison and switching tool. Kilda Sarah, it's great to have you with us today. Sarah, what is Billy?

SPEAKER_00 0:30

So Billy is a comparison and switching tool. And what that means is it's a site where you can go and get some information and compare power plans, and it will help give you information about whether you're on the right plan for you or whether you might want to switch to a different plan.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

And what's Billy doing that makes it simpler for a consumer to check the plan they're on or compare their options?

SPEAKER_00 0:51

So we did some research and we really designed Billy based on the research about what consumers told us. And they told us that there's a lot of complexity. There are lots of different plans and prices, and it's really hard to compare them. So we built Billy in a way to really cut through that complexity. It's presented in a simple, clear way, and it gives you lots of information that helps you understand some of the choices. So things like how you use power in your household can influence what your power bill is. So it helps you understand that to be able to make a good comparison and then make a good decision for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

And Billy's been designed on a really strong pool of actual data, is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Yeah, that's right. So we were really fortunate that we built Billy using two years' worth of data from 27,000 Kiwi households, which is amazing. And that kind of rich data has really helped Billy be built in a way that that you know gives people good information that they can have confidence in. So it's really about giving people confidence in the information that helps them, you know, consider the options for their household and then make a decision.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Shifting focus to some of the broader context around Billy. There's a key part here that seems to be about enabling transparency and independence. Talk to us about that.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yeah, so um transparency and independence are really important. You know, the electricity authority is part of government. We don't have an interest in any of those power plans. Um so we're uh able to present people with information that they can, you know, assess and make decisions for themselves. And at a broader level, um, that kind of transparency is really important. It is quite difficult to figure out the different options available. And so the more we can make it easier for people to have confidence, that empowers them to make choices that are that are right for them. So that's the aim behind Billy.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

How does Billy fit in with the wider strategy uh that the authorities are working to at the moment?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

So uh we have a a really big program of work that's all really focused on helping New Zealanders have electricity that is affordable and reliable. So a key part of our consumer work is helping New Zealanders have you know a better, a better, kind of clearer picture of their bills and have good information to make choices about um what they want. So Billy is a really important piece of that, but it sits alongside some other really critical work we're doing too. Um we have recently changed the rules and made it a requirement for retailers to simplify bills. Um, and also things like requiring retailers who your retailer has a lot of information about you. So we think they should be able to tell you if they have a better plan for you. So those are some of the things we're doing in that kind of consumer space. But our work runs right across the electricity market. We make the rules and we enforce the rules for the market. There's a lot of work going into improving the wholesale electricity market so that again we can get more competition and ultimately consumers can benefit.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

There's been a really strong focus on improving consumer bills generally. Tell us a little bit more about why that's been such a thing.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Yeah, so we did research and people have told us that they find bills confusing, it's difficult to understand what goes into their bill, uh, and it's difficult to compare. So that's why we've changed the rules to make it compulsory for retailers to simplify your bill. But also we brought in some compulsory standards of care, the consumer care obligations, that set out how you can expect your power company to deal with you on a whole range of things, um, including, you know, when you have difficulty paying your bill and and that sort of thing. So there's a whole load of things that go into making sure that New Zealanders are getting a really good standard of care from their power company and that they know what they can expect.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

And all of this seems to be enabling something that's being referred to as open electricity. What's that, Sarah?

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Yeah, so open electricity is part of a wider program of work the government's doing. Um we have open banking and there are other utilities as well. And it's all about um consumers' data. So the data that your bank or your power company holds about you is really it's really yours. And the the wider idea is that you should get the benefit of that. And so the um the consumer data right uh legislation, which is going through at the moment, that is designed to help you get the benefit of your own data and make it easier for the different companies to transfer your information at your request. And so when it comes to open electricity, that's going to enable the information about you to be able to be transferred more easily with your approval. And we've built Billy so that it's prepared for that future. And so when that law change happens and when we have open electricity in New Zealand, Billy will be able to take advantage of that and offer an even more tailored answer for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

That all sounds brilliant, Sarah. Really appreciate you stopping by today. Thanks for your time with us. For anyone who'd like to learn more about Billy Asset in Action, you can find Billy online at www.bil.govt.nz. That's all for now. We'll see you again soon. Kakitiano.