About our 2023 Price Changes
Electra is part of the power supply chain. We own and maintain the lines and cables that deliver electricity to homes and businesses in Horowhenua and Kapiti. You pay your retailer for the electricity you use (and any adjustments if you generate power and feed it back into the network).
Electra has among the lowest average bills compared to other lines companies, and we expect to maintain this excellent position against our peers into the future.
Our costs make up around 27% of the total price you pay for electricity. This portion of your electricity bill allows us to invest in and maintain our network and ensure your power supply is safe and resilient now and in the future. More details are available from ea.govt.nz.
We also pass on Transpower’s charges to you. This is the cost of getting electricity from the power stations where it’s generated to our network. This makes up 10.5% of your electricity bill.
We review our prices every year to ensure we can continue to meet electricity demand as the communities we serve continue to grow, and the way our customers use electricity changes.
What you need to know about our pricing:
- Our pricing covers the cost of building, operating and maintaining the electricity network across the Horowhenua and Kapiti districts.
- As a 100% consumer-owned network company, we work hard to deliver a safe and reliable electricity supply to everyone connected to our network.
- We also provide an annual Price Discount that we return everyone connected to our network via their electricity account. This is provided to your retailer in late February. You can learn more about our Price Discount and your eligibility here on our website electra.co.nz.
Our latest price changes will take effect from 1 April 2023
- We began our consultation process in September 2022 with your retailer and in March 2023 we advertised our new pricing for the coming year, effective from 1 April 2023.
- You can see what our new pricing is here on our website electra.co.nz.
- Your electricity retailer is not required to pass our price changes through to you, but most do. If they do, they need to give you one month’s notice.
- It is possible your electricity retailer will have other costs they need to pass through to customers at the same time (given distribution is only one part of their overall price) so your total electricity price increase may be higher.
Customer Impact
| User | Average Increase per week | Average % | Consumers |
| Low Users, General | $2.83 | 16% | 23,962 |
| Low Users, TOU | $2.78 | 18% | 13,195 |
| Low Users, TOU + EV | $3.09 | 23% | 9 |
| Standard Users, General | $3.73 | 14% | 1,974 |
| Standard Users, TOU | $3.25 | 17% | 6,914 |
| Standard Users, TOU + EV | $4.29 | 21% | 3 |
| Industrial | $30.74 | 8% | 264 |
Table 1 Customer Impact (TOU Time of use, EV Electric Vehicle)
The impact to very low users on the low user plan can be significantly higher than the average as the daily charge makes up a greater proportion of their bill.
The impact for these customers is 15 cents extra per day to Electra, retailers may also apply an increase of the same amount. This will reduce the cross subsidy standard customers are paying for low users, and there is no overall benefit to Electra specifically from this change.
The graph below shows how the proportion the fixed charge in a bill will increase over this phase out period. More information is available from the MBIE low user phase out website mbie.govt.nz.
Where can you go for help and information about your electricity account and usage?
Your electricity retailer: your electricity provider can discuss your current pricing plan with you and check they don’t have a plan more suited to your needs
Powerswitch: You can visit www.powerswitch.org.nz to compare your current pricing plan and provider against other electricity retailers operating on the Electra network. This is a free and independent service.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA): EECA is a government agency responsible for promoting energy efficiency and conservation. You can learn more about how you can make energy savings in your home at https://www.eeca.govt.nz/strategic-focus-areas/energy-efficient-homes/
Need to contact us about our latest pricing? You have some options:
- Call our call centre on 0800 353 2872.
- Send an email to pricing@electra.co.nz.
- Make sure you provide us with your ICP number(s).
Due to the volume of enquiries, it may take us up to 10 working days to investigate and respond.
I’m in hardship and cannot afford the price increase
For people who are struggling to make ends meet, please talk to your electricity retailer in the first instance. They will have a team who are ready to assist you on the options available.
There are other organisations that can help too. In the Kāpiti, Howowhenua region we have Energymate, Levin Budget Services, MoneyTalks.
Not sure what to do? Contact us at pricing@electra.co.nz.
Electra’s charges on your bill – a typical breakdown of costs on our customers’ electricity bill.
Need more information?
Figure 1 What makes up the charges on your power bill Source: ea.govt.nz
Send an email to one of our team at pricing@electra.co.nz
For more information on changes to the Low Fixed Charge go to MBIE’s website.
