If the plethora of golden daffodils and delicate cherry blossoms weren’t enough of a clue that we’ve moved into spring 2017, this windy, wet weather sure should be!

And while the warm and wild conditions of last week might have caused thunder, lightning, slips, and outages, they’ve also caused a big drop in spot prices around the country - yeehaa!

Why? How? Please explain!

Well, the crazy conditions brought with them the gifts of wind for the wind farms, water for the hydro lakes, and warmer temperatures for our thermal-covered bodies. That translates into an increased supply of cheaper, renewable energy, and a drop in demand (all the words we want to hear!). While we might have seen Dry Winter conditions and low lake levels as little as two months ago, as at Thursday 5 October 2017, our hydro lakes were sitting at 120% of average for this time of year. Woohoo!

So where are spot prices sitting at the moment?

Nice and low! The country is sitting an average spot price of 3.5 cents per kWh at the moment (5 October 2017).  Spot prices are considered ‘low’ when they’re less than 6 cents per kWh.

Will they stay that low?

Spot price forecasts are looking good for the month of October, ranging from 4.244 cents per kWh at the top of North Island, down to 3.738 cents per kWh in the south.

How can I make the most of these spot prices?

If you’re a Flickster on our Wholesale plan, you know the drill! Use your app and your Flick dashboard to keep an eye on those dropping prices, and shift your load to the times of the day when prices are limbo-low.

Keen to know about how spot pricing works on the wholesale electricity market? Read our blog, From forecast to final prices.