Media firm in energy retail tie-up

Media company Stuff is teaming up with an electricity retailer that sells power to consumers at cost price in return for a weekly fee.

Energyclubnz, which was founded by David Goadby in March, costs up to $5 a week.

It was announced yesterday that Stuff, the New Zealand arm of listed Australian company Fairfax Media, had bought a 49.01 per cent stake in the energy firm.

Goadby, a former Genesis Energy retail manager, said unlike big electricity firms, energyclubnz did not make any money if a household used more power.

‘‘Joining the club simplifies what is traditionally a really complicated billing process,’’ he said.

‘‘Customer feedback about our weekly online billing suggests customers love being aware of how much they are using and having the ability to really manage their power consumption.’’

Currently, energyclubnz is only available in Auckland on Vector networks. However, Goadby was planning to expand through the country over the next year.

Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher said teaming up with Goadby was the next step in ‘‘helping our communities connect and thrive.’’

‘‘Our strategy is to partner with businesses that Kiwis will truly value and we believe this product is designed to give people a fairer deal on their energy costs.

‘‘We welcome energyclubnz into the fold as we continue to explore new opportunities that will support our core business of journalism.’’

Stuff publishes the Stuff news website as well as newspapers including The Dominion Post, The Press, and The Sunday Star-times.

Energyclubnz joins broadband firm Stuff Fibre in Stuff’s stable of businesses it runs to make money to fund journalism.