14 AUG 2026

Free power works best when you shift, not add

Free or discounted power is one of the best bits of being on a Contact Good Plan. But there’s a small trick to making those reward hours work harder for your household: move the power use you already have into them, instead of simply using extra power. 

In other words, the goal isn’t to see how many appliances you can switch on at once. It’s to ask, “Could I do this later?”

How do you make the most of a Good Plan? 

Shift electricity use from peak times into your plan’s free or discounted period. 

That might mean waiting until 9pm to run the dishwasher, saving the weekend washing for Saturday morning, or scheduling your electric vehicle to charge overnight. The more existing electricity use you move, the more you could save. 

Contact’s current Good Plan hours are: 

• Good Nights: Free power from 9pm to midnight, Monday to Friday. 
• Good Weekends: Free power from 9am to 5pm every Saturday and Sunday. 
• Good Charge: 50% off power from 9pm to 7am every night. 

Conditions and eligibility criteria apply, so check the details for your plan on the Good Plans page.

The difference between shifting and adding 

Let’s say you normally run the dishwasher at 7pm. 

If you wait until your free period starts at 9pm, you’ve shifted that electricity use. The dishes still get clean, but the electricity used by the dishwasher may now fall inside your reward hours. 

If you run the dishwasher at 7pm and then use extra appliances after 9pm simply because the power is free, you’ve added to your total electricity use. You may still benefit from the free period, but you probably won’t get as much value from your plan as you would by moving existing use. 

A simple rule of thumb is: 

Before switching something on during your reward hours, ask whether you’ve moved that job from another time—or created a new one. 

You don’t have to get it perfect. A few small shifts, repeated regularly, can make a useful difference.
 

Start with the appliances that use more electricity 

Phone chargers are easy to move, but they generally use much less electricity than heating, hot water, clothes dryers, dishwashers and electric vehicle charging. 

For a bigger potential impact, start by looking at when you use:

• Your clothes dryer 
• The washing machine 
• The dishwasher 
• Electric heating or air conditioning 
• Your oven and other cooking appliances 
• A dehumidifier 
• Your electric vehicle charger 
• Hot water, where your meter and hot-water setup allow it 

You don’t need to move everything. Choose one or two regular jobs that fit naturally around your Good Plan hours.
 

Easy shifts for each Good Plan

If you’re on Good Nights 

Good Nights gives new customers free power from 9pm to midnight, Monday to Friday. 

Try loading the dishwasher after dinner and setting it to start at 9pm. Washing machines and dryers may also have a delay-start function, so you can prepare a load earlier and schedule it for your free period. 

You could also warm the bedroom, charge a cordless vacuum or finish some meal preparation after 9pm. Always follow the appliance manufacturer’s safety instructions.
 

If you’re on Good Weekends 

Good Weekends gives you free power from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The weekend is a handy time to catch up on laundry, use the dryer, run the dishwasher, dehumidify the house or prepare several meals in one oven session. Try holding off on a Friday-night load of washing and doing it after 9am on Saturday instead. 

The aim isn’t to create a marathon of extra chores. It’s to move jobs you would have done during the week into the weekend window where practical.

If you’re on Good Charge 

Good Charge offers 50% off power from 9pm to 7am every night, making overnight electric vehicle charging an obvious place to start. 

Use your vehicle or charger’s scheduling controls so charging begins after 9pm. Then look beyond the car: a dishwasher, washing machine or other suitable appliance may also be scheduled during the discounted period. 

Remember that Good Charge provides discounted rather than free power, and the discount applies to the eligible variable electricity usage rate. Daily and other charges aren’t included.
 

Let timers do the remembering 

You don’t need to wait beside the washing machine for the clock to tick over. 

Check whether your dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, heat pump, electric vehicle or charger has: 

• A delay-start button 
• A built-in timer 
• Scheduled charging 
• App-based controls 
• A smart plug that is suitable for the appliance’s electrical load 

Set the schedule once and your new routine becomes much easier to keep. If you’re unsure whether a timer or smart plug is appropriate, check the manufacturer’s instructions first.

Check whether your changes are working 

Use the Contact app or My Account to review when your household is using electricity. Checking every few days can help you spot patterns: 

• Are there still large spikes before your reward hours begin? 
• Could the dishwasher, dryer or vehicle charging move a little later? 
• Has your total use increased, even though more of it now happens during the free period? 
• Which change has been easiest for your household to maintain? 

Savings vary between households and depend on your rates, meter setup, overall electricity use and how much existing use you shift. There’s no magic number you need to reach.

Try a one-week power shift 

For the next seven days, choose just one appliance and move every suitable use of it into your free or discounted period. 

The dishwasher is a good place to start. Once that routine feels easy, add another appliance. 

Small changes are more likely to stick—and that’s when your Good Plan can start doing more of the work for you.