Matt Freeman on Friday, 11 December 2009 - 14:18                                       www.energynews.co.nz

 Energy has gone out to around 5000 customers in Christchurch, piloting peak and off-peak pricing to its smart meter customer base in the region.

 The peak period (25 c/kWh) is from Monday to Friday 7am to 9pm with off-peak (13 c/kWh) outside of this.

 The rates are taking advantage of local lines company Orion's peak and off-peak charging and the trial was launched earlier this month.

 Fellow retailer Powershop announced a similar smart meter pricing structure in August, also passing Orion's off-peak charges through to customers.

 Contact has around 48,000 smart meters in Christchurch.