Improving electricity billing in New Zealand

We consulted on a package of Code changes to improve electricity bills. Thank you to everyone who provided written submissions and/or gave their feedback via the online survey, we are now considering all submissions and will publish our decision in early 2026.

The changes we proposed would make bills easier to understand, give consumers the information they need to compare plans and lay the foundations for future services, such as AI-driven tools, smart home systems and new digital platforms that will help consumers save money and manage energy use.

Our proposals would:

• standardise content, require plain-language, and ensure logical lay-outs so bills are easier to understand
• give residential consumers the information they need to compare plans across the electricity market
• support consumers to be on the best plan for their needs through better plan prompts, risk-free time-of-use pricing adoption, and removing of penalties when changing plans within the same retailer
• protect residential and small business consumers by limiting back bills and reducing bill shocks from estimated meter readings.

Together, these core protections would remove entrenched barriers, strengthen consumer confidence, and ensure competition delivers the benefits it should.