About our 2025 Price Changes
From 1 April 2025, electricity lines charges in the Kāpiti and Horowhenua regions are increasing.
What does my price include?
Electra owns and maintains the electricity distribution network (the lines, cables and transformers) that distributes electricity to homes and businesses in the Kāpiti and Horowhenua regions. The electricity bill you get from your retailer is made up of a number of charges:
Distribution: About 27% of an average household bill covers the cost to invest in and maintain our distribution network. This is the cost to ensure the supply to your door is safe, reliable and resilient, now, and into the future.
Transmission: About 11% of an average household bill covers Transpower’s costs for getting electricity from the power stations, where it’s generated, to our network via the national grid. Transpower charges us, and we pass this on to you.
Generation, retail and other charges: The remaining 62% of your electricity bill is made up of non-Electra charges, including the cost of generation, retail costs, GST and levies. This is where you pay for the electricity that you use, as measured by your electricity meter reading.
The Distribution and Transmission charges, as well as other third-party costs, make up the total lines charges we pass on.
Why are prices increasing?
From 1 April 2025, electricity lines charges have been set to increase our target revenue by 15%.
While we are a 100% consumer trust owned network company, the way in which we determine our revenue follows the principles used by the Commerce Commission to determine revenue for price-controlled electricity distribution businesses. Every year we review our revenue requirements and update prices to ensure we can continue to safely, efficiently and reliably meet the electricity needs of our region. Our distribution charges ensure we can plan for and operate the network; to adapt to changes in the way electricity is used by our region as our community grows.
We work hard to help keep your energy prices affordable and these prices reflect the costs of operating and investing in the network. This year’s change is a combination of changes to our distribution charges and the third-party costs we need to recover, as outlined below:
Table 1: Breakdown of revenue changes by component
Distribution makes up around 81% of Electra’s total lines charge, and our costs are increasing by around 14%. The remaining 19% of the total lines charge represent transmission and other third-party costs such as rates and levies. The third-party costs we pass-through are increasing by around 18%.
The total lines charge we pass-through to your retailer depends on how and when you use the network.
Our Pricing Schedule provides more information on individual tariff options.
Our Pricing Methodology provides more information on how our prices reflect your electricity use.
Average Changes by Consumer Group
The impact of our price changes varies between and within consumer groups. This reflects the different supply costs we face, and different usage behaviour, of consumers within each group.
Table 2: Price changes by Consumer Group
Note that the above changes are averages; the overall impact on individual electricity bills will vary. The impact on your electricity bill will depend on things like how and when you use electricity and how your electricity retailer chooses to pass our charges on to you.
Drivers of the price change
Our target revenue for the year beginning 1 April 2025 is up by 15% compared to our revenue forecast for the year to 31 March 2025. We expect that around one-in-five customers will be shifted across consumer groups to ensure they pay the lowest rates for their consumption profile. This change has significantly adjusted the mix of consumer groups, meaning that the average price increase per consumer group is greater than the overall revenue increase.
The increased target revenue for the year commencing 1 April 2025, is a result of higher operating costs and pass-through costs for the year ahead, and because of prices being set too low to recover target revenue over the year prior (the year commencing 1 April 2024). Whilst it does not lessen the impact of this year’s pricing changes, end-consumers have benefited from lower charges over the past year. For the year ahead, Electra has experienced a 17% increase in the transmission charges we pass through and 34% increase in rates and other levies. Inflationary pressures have also led to higher material and labour costs which increase our costs to provide Electricity Distribution Services.
Other changes to our pricing
Phasing out of Low Fixed Charge tariffs
The low fixed-charge tariff option is being phased out by the Government over five years which started on 1 April 2022. This change re-balances the cost burden between Standard and Low users, as often the cost to supply energy is the same. In line with this, the daily fixed charge for Low User tariffs will rise from 60 cents per day to 75 cents per day from 1 April 2025.
Simplifying the price schedule
We want to offer choices to consumers but not inundate them. Our review highlighted that multiple tariff options create additional complexity. We have simplified our tariff options and increased standardisation by closing our:
- Flexi trial: There has been minimal uptake, so users will be migrated to the corresponding Standard or Low User Time of Use (TOU) plan
- Day/Night, Night Only and Night Boost pricing categories: Good uptake in TOU has reduced the number of customers remaining on these options. Affected customers will be migrated to the TOU or Anytime equivalent plan.
- General pricing to new consumers: Changes in regulation mean that all residential users should be transitioned to TOU by April 2026 (where a smart meter is available).
Improved consumer group pricing differential
Industrial customers tend to have higher capacity connections and associated cost to serve. Our review of customers’ consumption and which tariff best suits them identified many business users who would benefit from industrial tariffs. Prices have been adjusted to encourage users consuming more than 40,000kWh annually to switch to industrial rates. Additionally, the Low Fixed Charge regulation incentivises customers using over 8,000kWh annually to be on standard rates. As a result, standard rates saw an above-average increase in variable charges to maintain the pricing differential. The daily fixed charge for Low Users is set to increase before being phased out in 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the prices I pay change?
Your electricity retailer must provide one month’s notice to change your prices. Although they are not required to pass through our line price changes, most retailers will periodically review their charges to ensure they reflect changes across the electricity supply chain. A change to the rates you pay can include a combination of changes in the cost of generation, retail, levies and line charges.
Why does my price change differ from the average?
The overall impact of our pricing changes on your electricity bill will depend on a few things, such as how and when you use our network and how your retailer chooses to structure the prices they charge you. Our weighted averages provide a guide for the average user. Consumers that consume below average volumes of electricity on controlled tariffs, and or outside of peak periods, should expect less of an increase in network charges and vice versa.
When and how will I get my price discount?
This is provided to your retailer in late February. You can learn more about our Price Discount and your eligibility here.
Who can help me understand my electricity account and usage?
Your electricity retailer can discuss your current pricing plan with you and confirm you’re on the best option for your needs.
Powerswitch also provide a free and independent service that allows you to compare your current pricing plan and provider against other electricity retailers. You can visit www.powerswitch.org.nz
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is a government agency responsible for promoting energy efficiency and conservation. They provide co-funding and support for individuals, businesses, and large energy users Co-funding and support | EECA
I’m experiencing hardship, who can help me pay my bill?
Powerswitch is a great starting point to ensure you are on the lowest possible rate for your energy needs.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are supporting low electricity-use households finding it hard to pay their power bills as the Low Fixed Charge tariff regulations are phased out through the Power Credits Scheme.
Work and Income also provide extra payments for beneficiaries to help with energy costs from May to October every year, through their Winter Energy Payment scheme.
There are other organisations that can help too. In the Horowhenua and Kāpiti regions we have Energymate, Levin Budget Services, and MoneyTalks.
What is your complaints process?
Our consumers have the right to always expect quality service and support from us. If you have a complaint or problem, including land issues, we want to know so that we can fix it.
A quick chat with a staff member at Electra is often all that is required to resolve your concern. Call us on 0800 Electra (0800 353 2872) between 8am – 5pm on weekdays and ask to speak with our Customer Experience team. We endeavour to resolve all formal complaints within a period of 20 days.
If we do not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, we are a member of the Utilities Disputes Scheme, a free and independent service for resolving complaints about utility providers. You can contact Utilities Disputes at 0800 22 33 40 or go to Utilities Disputes.
