Our off-peak time-of-use (TOU) plan makes sense for many Kiwis who:
- Are a night owl, shift worker or heavy evening energy user
- Can shift energy-heavy tasks like laundry or dishes to after
9pm - Charge an EV overnight and want a flexible open-term plan
Night Saver Plan
Off peak power rates. Cheaper power at night from 9pm to 7am, for households that can shift the load.
2 minutes to see if you could save
With the Night Saver plan, you get lower power rates from 9pm to 7am every night compared to day rates on the plan. It's perfect for homes that run the heat pump, dishwasher or do the laundry overnight to keep energy costs in check.
Who is Night Saver for?
How it works
- 9pm–7am: Lower night time rates.
- 7am–9pm: Day time rate.
- Every night: The same lower night rate, seven days a week.
- No fixed contracts: If your routine changes, we’re right there with you. You can switch plans anytime.
*Anticipated savings based on lower rates compared to day rates on the same plan; actual savings vary based on usage.
What you get with our Night Saver plan
-
15c/kWh solar buy-back rate
15c/kWh standard buy-back rate for most of the year, plus a boosted 24c/kWh winter peak rate for power exported during peak morning and evening periods from July to September.*
-
$10 credit every month for your first 12 months
Enjoy a monthly account credit for your first year when you join the Night Saver Plan.*
-
Cheaper rates from 9pm - 7am
With the Night Saver plan, power costs less every night between 9pm and 7am. It’s perfect for homes that run the heat pump, dishwasher or do the laundry overnight all with the flexibility of an open term plan.
*Ts&Cs and eligibility criteria apply. 24c/kWh available 7am-10am, 5pm-9pm, July - September for customers with a communicating smart meter.
Get an extra $10 credit with Smart Hot Water
Get an extra $10 monthly credit on your bill when you join Smart Hot Water. It works by pausing supply to your hot water heating at quieter times during the day. If you're eligible, we'll email you and give 10 business days' notice before you're enrolled.* Find out more here
Smart Hot Water
Get an extra $10 credit with Smart Hot Water
Get an extra $10 monthly credit on your bill when you join Smart Hot Water. It works by pausing supply to your hot water heating at quieter times during the day. If you're eligible, we'll email you and give 10 business days' notice before you're enrolled.*
Bach Plan
Add a power plan for your holiday home
Got a bach or holiday home? Add the Bach Plan and only pay for the power you use, with no daily charges.
Home EV Charging
Lower rates for overnight EV charging
At Meridian, electric vehicles (EVs) get us pretty charged up. Night Saver is a great plan if you charge overnight, with lower night rates from 9pm to 7am.
Want to learn more about EV ownership and charging? Check out our guides:
Home Solar
Solar power by day, lower rates by night
Have panels on the roof? Our open-term plans give you two buy-back rates for the energy you export. Earn 15c/kWh most of the year and 24c/kWh during winter peak periods, all with no fixed contracts.*
See what your roof can earn:
*Ts&Cs and eligibility criteria apply. Residential customers only.
24c/kWh available 7am-10am, 5pm-9pm, July - September for customers with a communicating smart meter.
Compare this to our other plans
Compare our plans side-by-side to find the option that best suits your lifestyle and energy use.
| Freedom Plan | Night Saver Plan | Bach Plan | |
| Term | Open | Open | Fixed – 2 years ^ |
| Buy-back rate | 15c/kWh** | 15c/kWh** | 12c/kWh** |
| Winter peaks buy-back rate | 24c/kWh** | 24c/kWh** | – |
|
Ideal for |
Everyday flexibility*** | Lower night time rates*** | Holiday homes with low usage (second property) |
| Offer | $10 per month for your first 12 months | $10 per month for your first 12 months | No daily charges |
- For ALL our plans and offers, Ts&Cs and eligibility criteria apply
** The buy-back rate is variable and may change on notice, in accordance with our Plan Terms. To be eligible to receive our buy-back rates, you must meet our eligibility criteria - see our Standard Terms. Rates do not include GST. If you’re GST registered find our more on Solar for home.
*** Depending on your network and meter set up, day/night rates may also be available on Freedom Plans, although hours may vary.
^ On a Fixed Plan, your usage and network-based rates are fixed for the term of your plan, except in the circumstances set out in our Plan Terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out our help section below for quick and easy answers to common questions
What is Night Saver?
Night Saver is Meridian’s Time of Use open-term residential plan, which means the price you pay for electricity depends on when you use it. With Night Saver, you get a lower electricity rate from 9pm to 7am compared to the day rate on this plan.
What's the difference between Day/Night rates on Freedom and Night Saver?
If you have a day/night meter, your day and night electricity usage is measured separately. This means you may see separate Day and Night charges on your Freedom and Night Saver quote.
The main difference is the night-rate period: on Freedom, night rates apply from 11pm to 7am; on Night Saver, they apply from 9pm to 7am.
If you are in Orion and have a D14/N10 meter, your day and night rate times will be the
same for both Freedom and Night Saver plans: 9pm – 7am.
The other difference is you don’t need a particular meter to access the Night Saver rates –
any communicating smart meter can receive the 9pm – 7am cheaper night rates!
How do I join Night Saver?
If you have a smart meter, you can join Night Saver online in just a few steps - it's the
same simple process as signing up for our Freedom plan.
Is Night Saver right for me?
Night Saver is ideal for households who can shift (or already do) energy-heavy tasks like laundry or dishes after 9pm, or households' charging and EV overnight and want a flexible open-term plan. If most of your energy usage happens during the day, Night Saver may not be the best fit for you.
Will I actually save money on Night Saver?
Night Saver works best when you are shifting your usage to cheaper periods of the day
(9pm – 7am). By doing so, your energy will cost less, saving you more. If you’re using most
of your energy during the day and not able to shift your usage to the evening, then Night
Saver may not be the right plan for you.
Can I shift off this plan if it doesn’t suit me?
Yes you can; the benefit of Night Saver being an open-term plan is that there are no contracts, so you can shift off this plan whenever suits you.
Do I need a smart meter?
Yes, you do need a communicating smart meter on our Night Saver plan. This is because
Meridian uses the smart meter data, which is recorded every half hour, to split your usage into the day and night periods.
Off-peak power explained
What "off-peak" actually means
"Off-peak" refers to the times of day when demand on the electricity system is lower. Early morning, late evening and overnight tend to be lower demand periods, while mornings and early evenings, when most households are cooking, showering and running appliances, are typically the highest demand periods.
Time of use pricing reflects this pattern. Power used during quieter off-peak hours is often priced differently to power used during busier peak hours, because the cost of supplying electricity changes depending on how much the overall system is being asked to do at any given moment.
How can off-peak unlock savings?
Shifting usage to save
The basic idea is straightforward. Where you have off-peak pricing, shifting some of your electricity use to off-peak hours, for example running the dishwasher overnight or charging appliances before you head to bed, can reduce what you pay for that portion of your usage.
How Night Saver applies this
Meridian's Night Saver plan is built around this idea. It's a time-of-use, open-term plan with a lower night rate from 9pm to 7am compared to the day rate on the same plan. Households that can shift energy heavy tasks, like laundry, dishes or EV charging, into that window are generally best placed to benefit.
What you need to access off-peak rates
Not every household is set up to take advantage of off-peak pricing, since it depends on having a smart meter and being on a plan structured around time of use.
Night Saver works with any communicating smart meter, so it's more widely accessible than some other time-of-use options, but it's still worth checking your own usage patterns before switching.
Why rates vary across New Zealand
Different networks, different rules
New Zealand's electricity network isn't one single system. Power is delivered to homes through local lines companies, and there are more than two dozen of these operating across the country, each managing their own network of poles, wires and substations in their area.
Because these networks are run separately, and the cost of moving electricity around differs from region to region, each network has its own price categories.
Some areas have older or more spread out networks that cost more to maintain, while others are more compact or recently upgraded.
What does that mean for off-peak plans?
There are two kinds of "off-peak" plans:
Network based off peak plans
Some off-peak plans are offered by the network in your area, and are reflected in both what we pay the network in lines charges, and your pricing. Because each network has its own requirements for off-peak, or "day/night" pricing, the "off-peak" hours can vary between regions.
Meridian's Freedom plan, for example, offers night rates to some customers from 11pm to 7am, or from 9pm to 7am depending on your network and meter set up, but this is based on what the network can offer us. The Orion network, for example, offers households with a D14/N10 meter night rates from 9pm to 7am. So these customers can access off-peak rates through either Freedom or Night Saver.
Retailer offered off peak plans
Meridian's Night Saver plan is a retailer offered off-peak plan, where we use smart meter data to offer off-peak rates from 9pm to 7am every night, rather than having to rely on what the network in your region can offer. Using the Orion example, customers in the Orion network who have a smart meter, but not a D14/N10 meter, can still access our Meridian off-peak rates through Night Saver.
It's a good example of how the meter and network you're on can shape the details, even within the same retailer.