Local lines companies take the electricity transmitted over the national grid and distribute it to all the homes and businesses across Aotearoa.
Together, the 29 lines companies maintain around 150,000 km of lines throughout Aotearoa. The lines company you are with depends on where you live. Unlike when choosing a retailer, you don't have a choice of which lines company looks after delivering electricity to your home. Some lines companies are privately owned and others are owned by your local council, community or consumer trust.
Lines companies pass on their charges to electricity retailers and these are included as a component of the total electricity bill you get from your retailer.
So what does your power bill pay for?
The image below shows the different components that make up your power bill.
Low fixed charge and the Power Credits Scheme
The 'Low Fixed Charge' tarrif option is being phased out. This is because some households were paying more for their connection to the electricity network than other households with these. You can read more about what was causing the problem here.
The Power Credits Scheme was set up by the energy industry to help consumers affected by the phasing out of low-user charges. The scheme is funded by reatilers and lines companies and it offers $110 of credit to households in hardship because of the phase-out.
To qualify, your households power needs to be supplied by Contact, Meridian, Mercury, Genesis, Nova, Wise, Globug, Powershop, Frank or Toast Electric — and they will asses if tyou're in hardship as a result of the phase-out.
Here is some more info about the scheme. And if you want to chat to someone about it, call your retailer (the business who sends you your power bill).
How can I save money on power?
Consumers and businesses concerned about the cost of electricity should consider options to save money on power.
- Powerswitch will tell you if you can save money by switching to a different energy retailer.
- EnergyMate contains a lot of ideas on how to be more energy efficient and save money on each bill.
- GenLess includes stories, tools to save money on power including an easy calculator to discover the best appliance options for your home
Power bills will rise in 2025. Here’s why.
Some lines companies (currently 16 of 29) are subject to price-quality regulation. Every five years, the Commerce Commission sets limits for what these regulated lines companies can earn, and the quality standard they must maintain. The period for 2025-2030 has been set and the outcome will be reflected in the prices that customers are charged.
The Commission estimates that consumers can expect to pay approximately $10 extra per month on their electricity bill from April 2025.
This is only an average estimate, and you might pay more or less depending on where you live, how much electricity you use, and the retailer pricing plan you have chosen.
After the first year of the regulatory period, household electricity bills will increase on average by about $5 per month. By 2030, it is estimated that the average monthly power bill will cost about $30 more than in 2024.
We know that as an essential service for all New Zealanders, electricity must be affordable. And we also know that more investment is needed so that consumers can get reliable electricity. We’re conscious of the impact that investment costs have on New Zealanders – big and small – as they flow through to electricity bills.
The proposed increase reflects the higher costs companies are facing, including increased inflation and interest rates since the last revenue review in 2019. The higher investment limits set by the Commerce Commission also recognise that assets built last century need to be maintained and replaced. And electricity networks need to adapt because it’s forecast that electricity demand could increase by 68% by 2050.
If we put off investment now, it will mean even higher prices down the track and could lead to less reliable electricity and a network that’s not able to keep up with demand growth. We only need to look at some of the water infrastructure here in Aotearoa to see the consequences of underinvesting.
This re-set from the Commerce Commission happens every five yearsStriking the right balance to make sure we are investing in our electricity system, and keeping it as affordable as possible for consumers, is critical.
All of our country's 29 lines companies are subject to the Commerce Commission’s information disclosure requirements. This means they need to publicly disclose key financial and network information which provides transparency on performance. The Commission applies close scrutiny to all lines companies expenditure, performance and future plans to ensure they are investing wisely on behalf of all New Zealanders.
For more info about electricity lines and transmission charges, visit the Commerce Commission webpage here: Electricity Lines and Transmission Charges: What are they, why are they changing and what does this mean for your electricity bill?