Angel → VC
Households
2014
Transparent pricing
Energy retail
The power retailer Flick Electric launched in 2014 in New Zealand to give consumers direct exposure to wholesale-electricity pricing.
Early customers were households on spot pricing plans who accepted price volatility in exchange for transparency and possible savings.
Startup Rollercoaster
The Spark
Flick Electric entered the NZ electricity retail market in late 2014 offering customers wholesale (spot) pricing, where electricity costs varied every half-hour.
It positioned itself as a tech-based challenger, aiming for transparency and enabling consumers to see real cost components.
The Peak
Customers who embraced the model liked the visibility of prices and the promise of lower cost when wholesale prices were favourable.
By 2021, Flick had about 27,000 customers and was recognised by Consumer NZ as “Energy Retailer of the Year.”
The Drop
Spikes in wholesale electricity prices, especially during winter 2017 and in subsequent years, caused bills to jump for customers on exposure plans.
These price spikes led to customer complaints, churn, and increased regulatory scrutiny.
The Reset
In 2018 Flick introduced a hedged product named FIXIE to give customers stability in the generation cost part of bills.
Later the company replaced FIXIE with other plan types (Flat, Off-Peak) to simplify pricing and reduce customer confusion.
The Discipline
Flick focused on clearer communication about how spot and fixed/hedged components work.
It also pushed for regulatory transparency and adapted its plan offerings to match customer risk tolerance.
The Climb
Despite volatility, Flick maintained a niche of customers valuing transparency and variable pricing.
As of 2023, it reported more than 35,000 customers and emphasized its ambition to drive electrification and compete broadly in NZ’s electricity market.
Read more
- https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/560899/what-went-wrong-for-flick
- https://news.flickelectric.co.nz/2021/11/10/farewell-fixie-hello-off-peak-and-flat
- https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/flick-electric-say-it-is-not-taking-on-new-customers-due-to-unsustainable-wholesale-prices/3XTS752KMGBWJ37X5KRAOKAF5Q
- https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/infrastructure/flick-tests-new-approaches-to-entice-customers
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