Frequently asked questions

General

Switching to Toast

Billing and payments

Rates and plans

Moving house

Outages and supply

General

Where does Toast supply electricity?

We service homes and small businesses in Wellington, Porirua, the Hutt Valley, Kāpiti and Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Christchurch and Mid-Canterbury.

When will you be in my region?

It's important for us to be community-based first and foremost. This means building relationships with referral agencies for our Energy Wellbeing programme in a new region can take time. As a small team, its also important that we scale sustainably and sensibly to ensure the best possible customer service.

If you'd like to be the first to know when we expand to a new region, you can sign up to our newsletter below.

Where does the power come from? Is it renewable?

Short answer: at least 80% of the power we sell to you is renewable and we’re always looking for ways to increase that percentage.

Longer answer: Our electricity supply comes direct from the national grid which is around 80% (sometimes as high as 95% if the conditions are good) renewable. All retail power purchased through overhead lines is the same overall mix.

A company that claims its power is 100% renewable is slightly different. It supplies retail power from the grid (80% renewable) but secures its wholesale power through a number of power purchase agreements (PPA) with renewable generators.

The net accounting effect is that they can claim that their supply to clients is matched by renewable wholesale purchases. The long-term benefit of this accounting may be to encourage more renewable generation to be constructed – e.g if all retail companies only bought PPA’s from renewables then there would be incentives for generators to build more renewables. But this is not certain. It’s complex.

What is Toast doing to be environmentally sustainable?

Toast Electric provides support to those experiencing energy hardship through our Energy Wellbeing programme. The programme helps to level the playing field between those who can afford energy and those who struggle. Our home advisors visit over 500 homes every year supporting households to create healthy homes and be more efficient with their use of power. We’re also providing advice and options for homes that want to electrify – moving away from gas and fossil fuels towards a cleaner electricity future.

Toast is also run by Sustainability Trust, which means we’re part of a family that runs smart, environmentally sustainable programmes and returns any profits into community benefit. Sustainability Trust is also a Climate Positive organisation and a Living Wage employer.

What are my options if I’m on a lower income?

Our Energy Wellbeing programme is open to households who are clients of a partner budget advice agency. Talk to your local budget advice agency www.Fincap.org.nz and see if they are a referral partner. Alternatively you can still sign up to Toast as a customer and we’ll provide you with our everyday competitive rates. For any other questions, please drop us a line at hello@toastelectric.co.nz

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Why aren’t you keeping the profit you make?

Toast is here for people – not profit. We believe essential resources like electricity should be provided by local organisations, so your money stays in your own community and supports local initiatives in social equity, instead of being sent to large privately-owned organisations or shareholders.

Why don’t you have a call centre?

Using email and call back services for customer contact helps us keep costs down, which means we can keep your electricity costs down too.

We check your emails regularly during working hours and will respond within 2 business days.

You’re small… can I trust you?

Short answer – yes, absolutely!

Whilst Toast is a smaller supplier, the organisation behind it is not. Toast Electric is powered by Sustainability Trust, a social enterprise that has been offering sustainable living solutions in Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui (Wellington region) for 20 years.

Toast has also been growing steadily for the last three years. All our profits are invested in award-winning programmes that empower everyone to live more sustainably. When it comes to healthier homes and giving back to the community, you can trust us.

Switching to Toast

How do I join?

You’ll find all the info you need on our sign up page. It only takes a few minutes to complete the form. We’ll take care of all the details, including checking we can service your address and contacting your existing supplier.

How is Toast different to my current provider?

With Toast, you get exactly the same electrons down the wires with the same reliability.

The difference is that we are a registered not-for-profit charity. Profits do not go to shareholders, they are re-invested into our charitable programmes.

This means that any profit that’s made from providing you with power is used to ensure low income Toast customers on our Energy Wellbeing Plan can access affordable energy and tailored home assessments. We work on a 4:1 model, which means for every four general-income customers, we can provide wraparound support to one more low-income customer.

Can I switch to Toast if I have my internet or gas in a bundle with my current provider?

Yes you can! Bundling might be convenient, but usually means overall higher costs than you can get individually. It’s a market out there after all.

If you have gas or internet on the same plan as your electricity you should be able to switch your electricity supply to Toast Electric and keep your non-electricity services with your existing provider.

We recommend you check with your current provider first by asking the following questions

If I unbundle my services and switch electricity providers, can you still provide just the gas or broadband without the electricity?
Is there a charge for me to switch or unbundle my gas/broadband from my electricity. If so what is it?

Send a copy of the reply to us at hello@toastelectric.nz. We’ll check your situation and see if unbundling your services and switching your electricity to Toast will give you better overall value.

Do I need to contact my current supplier to let them know I want to switch?

No, we take care of all that for you. Once we’ve confirmed we can supply your address, we let your current supplier know you’re coming on board and make the switch behind the scenes.

I’m already tied into a contract – what can I do?

You can join Toast even if you are on a contract, although you may have to pay a break free if you have not finished your term.

Make sure you check this with your current provider first.

Billing and payments

What are my payment options?

Our default is Direct Debit. It’s quick and easy and your accounts gets debited automatically on the due date.

In certain circumstances we can also offer SmoothPay. SmoothPay is a system that allows you to pay your bills in regular, fixed installments. Please contact us at accounts@toastelectric.nz to request this.

We currently do not have the staffing resources to be able to provide further payment options.

Where can I see my power usage? Do you have an app?

We're a lean, not-for-profit team, so we don't have a fancy app or customer interface just yet, but we're working on it.

At the moment we measure your power usage on a monthly basis - you'll get a copy of this emailed to you in your monthly invoice.

How do I change the account my direct debit comes from?

If you want to change the bank account that your direct debit payments are coming from, just email us on accounts@toastelectric.nz and our accounts team will send you a change payment form to complete with your new bank account details.

How do I make a payment to Toast's bank account?

If you're an existing customer and you need to make a payment to us, use the below details:

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Account name: Sustainability Trust - Toast Electric

Account Number : 02-0506-0292223-00

Please ensure you have your customer number (you will find this at the top-right of your invoice) and name as references.

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Does your pricing include GST?

Yes, all our pricing includes GST.

When will I receive my bill?

Your bill will arrive monthly: in the first week of the month. It is due within 7 days after the date of the invoice, as advised at the bottom of your bill.

If you are paying by Direct Debit, your payment is taken on the due date stated at the bottom of your invoice.

Rates and plans

What rates and plans does Toast offer?

We have a range of rates to suit different households, usage, and meter setups. Click here to see our current offers.

Does Toast provide power to businesses?

We’d love to have your business join up with Toast Electric. We’ll be able to provide you with great rates and the knowledge that your energy dollar is doing good in the community.

Our Sustainability Trust offices are joined up with Toast, another way of walking the talk when it comes to social equity.

For more information email our friendly team on hello@toastelectric.nz (and include a copy of a recent bill if you have one) or book a phone call-back.

Does Toast have a solar buyback plan?

Yes! We offer solar buyback at 11c/kWh including GST. Contact us to find out more.

Does Toast have a plan suitable for electric vehicle charging?

We sure do! Our EV plan is a day/night plan with up to half-price power at night (9pm-7am).

Contact us before you switch at hello@toastelectric.nz, then we can check your meter to see if we can offer you this rate.

Are you competitive? Are you the cheapest?

We may not always be the absolute cheapest supplier, but you can be sure our rates are competitive. Many of our customers tell us they’re now paying less with us than they were with their previous provider.

We don't offer any fancy bundles, product giveaways or free hours of power: our pricing is low, consistent, transparent and you can 'set-and-forget'. No more power anxiety as you schedule your life around turning on appliances!

Check out our pricing here.

Moving house

Moving house and already with Toast?

If you’re already a Toast customer we can transfer your power account to your new place so it’s ready and waiting when you move in.

Send us an email to hello@toastelectric.nz and include the following details:

your name and current address
date moving out
new address
date moving in.

We’ll be in contact to confirm we can supply your new home.

Alternatively book a call-back with one of our friendly team and we can cover everything off on the phone.

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Moving and switching to Toast?

We’d love to have you join us when you move into your new home. We service homes and small businesses in Wellington, Porirua, the Hutt Valley, Kāpiti, Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Christchurch and Mid-Canterbury. We can typically complete the switch in 2-7 days.

Click the link below to join us.

Join Us

Outages and supply

What should I do if I’m medically dependent on power?

If you have medical equipment that you rely on for critical medical support and the loss of power could result in harm or loss of life, please let us know as soon as you can. We’ll send you a form for your GP or health professional to sign.

Once we have this form, you’ll be entered on our Medically Dependent Register. This means we will not disconnect your power for non-payment of electricity.

If we have been notified by the lines company that they will be doing maintenance and if there will be an outage, we will contact you directly. We try and give at least 3 days notice of this.

However, there are cases where there are power outages outside of our control. You will need to ensure you have a backup plan for these unexpected events.

My electricity is out. Who should I contact?

Power can go out for many reasons - the most likely is a problem with the electricity lines coming in to your property.

If you don’t have power you can call your local lines company at the numbers below or our outage service 24 hours per day on 0800 688 243 (0800 OUTAGE). You will be asked a few questions to see if we can work out if it’s likely to be a fault related to your home’s wiring or a wider outage. We’ll then help you get the lights back on.

If the issue is an emergency, such as sparking lines, or tree on a powerline, then you call your lines company immediately at the below numbers:

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Live in Wellington, Porirua or Hutt Valley (Wellington Electricity area)?

Call Wellington Electricity on 0800 248 148, or Outages (welectricity.co.nz)

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Live in Kāpiti or Horowhenua (Electra Lines area)?

Call Electra Lines Company hotline directly on 0800 567 876 or  Outages - Electra

Live in Christchurch or Central Canterbury (Orion Network area)?

Call Orion on  0800 363 9898 or Outages | The Orion Group

Live in Wairarapa (PowerCo Network area)?

Call PowerCo on  0800 27 27 27 or Report an outage

Please note: we will not disconnect your power for any reason without consulting with you first. So if the power’s out and we haven’t contacted you, then it’s very likely a fault in the electricity system somewhere and you should call the outage services above.

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Joining Toast is easy

Signing up to Toast is so easy: you don’t even have to contact your current supplier – we’ll take care of it all.

Let’s get started!

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2 Forresters Lane, Wellington 6011.

Toast Electric is powered by Sustainability Trust, a social enterprise that offers sustainable living solutions in Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui (Wellington region).