Regional power prices
What’s your region’s average power bill and how does yours compare?
Average power use and costs
This interactive map shows the average monthly household power use, charges and bills by region in New Zealand.
We developed this dashboard to provide price transparency, understanding of price increases and to encourage New Zealanders to get more engaged in choosing their power plan and provider.
The graph below shows how power bills increased since February 2025, largely due to increased lines charges. The average power bill increase differs between regions. There are various reasons for differences between local lines companies, but a significant factor is the number of consumers the costs are spread over.
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Winter saving tips
Winter saving tips to help your household
Understanding the dashboard
What is a fixed charge?
A charge is the price you pay for your power. A fixed charge - sometimes called a daily charge - covers the basic costs of maintaining your connection. This is the cost you pay for having access to power.
What is a variable charge?
A variable charge is the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh). There are three types of variable charge:
- Anytime/24 hour
- Off-peak/night rate
- Controlled.
The variable charges shown on our dashboard is an average of all of the retailer variable charges in your region.
What is a kWh?
This is short for kilowatt-hour, which is the standard unit of power consumption. This is a measure of energy over time and comprises 1,000 watts of power consumed over one hour. For example, running a 1,000-watt heater for an hour will consume one unit of electricity or one kWh.
Power companies usually set the price for electricity in cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
What are lines charges?
Lines charges cover transmission and distribution costs, and pay for the infrastructure (wires and poles) that connects your home to the local power network.
What’s included in ‘other costs’?
Other costs included in power bills (and price increases) are: generation, retail, GST, metering, market governance and market services. You can learn more about these costs.
Your power use and costs
Find out about how to use less power without impacting your comfort, how to get the best deal for your power, and your rights as an electricity customer.
Compare and switch to save $$
Did you know you can give your retailer a call and discuss any cheaper plans they may have available? It's also quick and easy to switch power companies and you could save money. Make sure you're on the right plan for your needs.
Ways to save energy
By making some small changes to your home and appliances, you can save power and reduce your power bills.
Finding it hard to pay your bill?
It can be hard to pay your bills from time to time. Here are some things you can do if you are finding it hard to pay your bill.
Note
Disclaimer
This information is published on a best-endeavours basis. It should not be considered as definitive and is subject to change. The Electricity Authority takes no responsibility for the completeness, accuracy or reliability of this information.
This data should be considered in the broader retail market context eg, alongside public announcements by retailers.
This data is produced from a Section 46 request which covered average intended price increases and average actual tariffs. This includes tariff plans which are not generally available, such as legacy plans.
Some assumptions have been made to align the provided regional data with the appropriate region within each network. Embedded networks are excluded.
Tariffs shown do not consider any bundling or special discounts. The average fixed tariff and average variable tariff are also calculated independently, so may not represent any actual plan or directly relate to the monthly bill shown. The averages also do not capture the wide range of plans that exist within each region.
Note, the latest data is based on billing in May 2025. The default price-quality path for electricity distribution businesses (DPP4) increase came into effect on 1 April 2025. However, retailers have taken different approaches on when to increase prices and so the full impact of intended price increases is not yet shown.
Data published by the Commerce Commission on the DPP4 changes reflect the change to the upper limit of revenue networks may collect. However, networks may not have passed through the full increase, and retailers may have absorbed some of the increase (particularly in vulnerable regions) so the actual increases in line charges may not align with the Commerce Commissions' DPP4 data.