Network pricing

We set prices to ensure that we can cover our costs, operate a sustainable, reliable and efficient electricity network, as well as comply with the regulated revenue cap that the Commerce Commission has set for us.

Once prices are set, the amount customers pay depends on the service quantity. Chargeable quantities are generally capacity-based (how big your electricity connection is) and volume-based (how much electricity you use). Our focus is developing price structures that are equitable across the various customer types we have in our region (general supplies, irrigation, etc.), and using chargeable quantities that reflect our costs helps achieve this.

While our total revenue is regulated by the Commerce Commission, the structure of our pricing is monitored by the Electricity Authority against a set of pricing principles that it has established published “Pricing Methodology” document shows how we categorise power connections, assign costs and shared costs, how we structure prices, and how we align with the pricing principles. You can download a copy of our pricing methodology here.

We are also required to re-focus our pricing when directed by the government or regulators (such as changes to the low-user fixed charges and introducing credits for export generation).

The Commerce Commission has set a new regulated price cap for the five year period to 2030.  It provided an initial uplift which we applied last year, followed by smaller annual increments. The adjustments accounts for inflation that was higher than expected when the previous five-year regulated limits were set and also a return to more normal interest rates over the past regulatory period.   

This year, Transpower's charges to us have increased by 20% which accounts for about half our movement.  On top of this we have increase our own charges by 5%.  While this is below the regulated limit, we consider that it will provide sufficient revenue to maintain our network and essential services, and to meet our operating budgets.  

If you have electricity generation (such as solar), or are considering installing it, from 1 April 2026 we’ve introduced optional export credits for power you send back to the network. These credits vary by time of day and are aligned with when peak demand occurs in different areas.  The new price category simply identifies which export credit is available to you if you have generation.  Aside from the export credit, all other prices are set the same across the different areas.

Aside from our 1 April 2026 update, if we do change your price category, we'll let you know in advance and explain why.

Fixed and capacity charges are a set amount charged on a daily basis that reflects the capacity throughout our network that is reserved and maintained for your use, regardless of how frequently (or infrequently) you use that capacity. This is all about the capacity of your connection and your peak demand for electricity, measured in kW (or kWh per hour).

Volume charges are what you pay for the amount of electricity that you use. Volume charges are a good way to recover costs for shared assets, as those that use more pay more, and those that use less pay less. This is all about how “much” electricity you use, measured in kWh. 

At EA Networks, we build the network close to you to meet your peak demand, and we build our upstream network to meet the combined peak demand of all customers. This means our asset costs are largely driven by capacity needs: your peak demand and your contribution to network peak demands.

To better reflect our costs, over time we are shifting away from volume-based charges in favour of capacity-based charges.  We recognise that this charge will impact some customers more than others, and that this impact is in addition to our price increase.  To help mitigate this we have signalled the shift well in advance and we are phasing in the change over time.   

Yes. As we move away from volume pricing, we are working to enhance our pricing structures to provide more choice for customers to “right size” their supply capacity and reduce costs. 

• Small residential customers can select a half-size supply (that has 30 amp fusing) and move to the smaller general supply category. 
• We’ve created additional categories for commercial supplies to better reflect different sizes. Customers can move between the categories by requesting an upgrade or downgrade. 
• Industrial customers can select a booked capacity that meets their current and future needs, and downgrades will reduce the amount we charge. 

You can find out more about changing your power supply here.

All customers of EA Networks are entitled to receive a consumer discount. This is calculated in March each year, and we pay the discount through electricity retailers directly to power accounts. To get the discount, you need to have an active power account on our network on 28/29 February. If you move property during the year, we’ll make sure that the discount from your time at the old property is transferred over to your new property. Switching retailers will not affect your discount – we'll track down who you are with and make sure the discount gets credited to your power account.

Discounts are a great way for us to ensure our charges stay low.We could lower our prices instead, but we don’t think that would be reflected in retail electricity prices.Retailers are required to pass on our discounts and can’t pocket the money. 

You can find out more about our consumer discount here. 

The Government has made the decision to phase out low-user fixed charges over a 5-year period from 2022 to 2027.

The goal of government is to create a fairer and more equitable system. Low fixed charges meant we had to apply high-volume prices, which:

• are hard on households that have high energy needs, perhaps because they have large families, might be living in poorly insulated renal accommodation, and can’t afford energy-efficient appliances or solar panels,
• discourages customers from using power for things like electric vehicles and heating,
• encourages customers to avoid using our service through expensive forms of generation.

Shifting the balance away from volume prices is fairer and will help our community reduce their impact on our environment.

MBIE has some great information about the changes here.