Your price changes explained

Your energy rates are increasing because the cost of providing energy to you is rising.

When we set our prices to power and heat Kiwi homes and businesses, we take into consideration all the components that make up your bill. This includes our costs of purchasing electricity and/or gas from the wholesale market, our investment into the services we provide, the money we pay to transmission and distribution companies to get energy to your home, and to metering companies, plus GST, levies, and any other regulatory costs.  

As much as we try to limit price increases, when components from companies along the supply chain increase, the result is higher energy rates for our customers.

Transmission and distribution lines upgrades

From 2025, over five years, there will be substantial investments in transmission and distribution lines infrastructure by Transpower and local network companies. These costs are out of Contact's control, but the infrastructure upgrades are essential to ensure New Zealand continues to have a reliable, secure, and resilient electricity supply now and in the future. For further details, please visit the Commerce Commission website.  

The best person to answer this question is you. It all depends on what you value. 

Our open term plans give you the freedom of being able to move plans whenever you like. We have plans with different benefits to choose from depending on what will work best for you. 

Residential: If you’ve got a communicating smart meter at your place, check out our Good Plans. Good Plans give you periods of free or discounted power so you could save whenever you fire up appliances during those hours. The more of your current energy usage you shift to your free or discounted hours, the more you’re set to save! 

Whether you’re after a Good Plan or something else, have a look at our plans and pick the one that suits you best. 

Alternatively, you can check out Powerswitch to help you work out which power company and pricing plan is best for your specific needs.  

Business: Check out our Business plan here or give us a call on 0800 266 848 to discuss.

In September 2021, the Government agreed to phase-out Low User regulations over five years starting from 1 April 2022.  

The original purpose of low fixed charges was to reduce power bills for low-use, low-income households through a discounted fixed charge. However, the well-meaning intentions meant that not all low-income households benefited. The review found that the regulations are poorly targeted as the use of electricity is an unreliable indicator of socioeconomic status and only help some low-use households while pushing others into greater energy hardship, including many low-income families with high electricity use. 

You can find out more about these changes here.

The government is phasing out Low User regulations over a period of five years. From 1 April 2025, the cap on the Low User daily charge has increased from $1.20 /day to $1.50 /day (which is an increase of about $2.50 per week after GST). The cap will continue to rise by 30 cents/day each year until 2027, when the Low User regulations will be removed.  

Phasing-out the regulations will see the maximum low fixed charge increase gradually over five years until it is about the same as the standard fixed charge. Generally, customers on a low user plan should also see their variable rates become more aligned to standard user variable rates during this time.  

Below is the phase out approach:

Please note, these maximum charges are after the deduction of any discounts (if applicable).  

If you use less than 8,000 kWh of electricity at your main home, you will generally be better off on a low user plan. This increases to 9,000 kWh in some parts of the lower South Island. If you feel your user plan is no longer right for you, you can change your user plan here.  

We are committed to regularly reviewing our products and pricing to ensure we continue to deliver good value to our customers. If you are struggling with budgeting or paying your bills, see how we can help in the question below. 

No, any discounts or benefits you’re getting on your current plan will stay exactly the same, unless we have informed you otherwise.

For example:

• A prompt payment discount or guaranteed discount
• Any other conditional discounts (e.g. direct debit, email billing, dual energy)

We want to reassure you that while wholesale energy prices can fluctuate on a daily basis, changes in daily wholesale energy costs only affect customers who buy their energy directly from the wholesale market. Most Kiwi households are protected from daily fluctuating wholesale prices because they buy their energy from an energy retailer, like Contact. Contact keeps prices stable for its customers for long/longer periods of time i.e. we don't change prices for customers every time the daily wholesale energy price changes.

All customers affected by this price increase are on plans that shield them from short-term price volatility.

The price change coming into effect in December reflects the increases in the distribution costs we pay to get energy to customers’ homes and businesses, which are beyond our control, the rising costs of energy and our investment in the services we provide. 

For us, the important thing is to get more energy supply into the market, and we’re proud of the work we’re doing to ensure there’s a reliable and sustainable supply of electricity now and for the future. Our two new geothermal power stations, Tauhara and Te Huka 3 opened last year and gave a much-needed boost to energy supply during a time of unpredictable rainfall and limited gas availability. We’re now working on three new renewable energy projects: a grid-scale battery in Auckland, one of New Zealand’s largest solar farms in Christchurch, and Te Mihi Stage 2 — a more efficient geothermal power station that will replace our nearly 70-year-old Wairakei plant. Our robust pipeline of  future renewable projects are essential for developing a more sustainable energy system.  

This is a breakdown of an average household gas bill and is indicative only. 

Wholesale gas and carbon – Natural gas is produced from fields in the Taranaki region. Gas is purchased from the wholesale market. Carbon credits are also purchased to offset the emissions. 

Transmission – Gas is processed and goes into a network of transmission pipelines transporting gas across the North Island. 

Distribution - The regional network has pipes that deliver gas from the transmission pipelines to your local area, and then to your home. 

Retail - The operating costs of the retailer you’re with. That’s us! 

GST - New Zealand’s Goods and Services Tax. GST is 15% of the pre-GST cost, which equates to 13% of the GST-inclusive amount. 

Other - Including reading and maintaining your gas meter and levies or fees charged by regulators to cover their costs. 

This is a breakdown of an average household broadband bill and is indicative only.

Network or local fibre company – The network costs for connecting your home to the world through infrastructure like fibre or copper cables, or cellular towers.

Retail - The operating costs of the retailer you’re with. That’s us! 

GST - New Zealand’s Goods and Services Tax. GST is 15% of the pre-GST cost, which equates to 13% of the GST-inclusive amount. 

We’re available to support customers experiencing hardship because of the current weather warnings. If your power goes out, find outage updates and contact details for your Network.

If you have been impacted and need our help, you can call our contact centre on 0800 45 46 48. Our team is available to assist between 8am and 6pm. Alternatively, you can contact us via Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

Affected business customers should call 0800 365 333. Please stay safe.

If you need support with paying your bill, we’re here to talk through your options. Please call our Wellbeing team on 0800 90 9000 during business hours.

We strive to always put the wellbeing of our customers first and our Residential Consumer Care Policy sets out our promise to you. As well as keeping the lights on, we’re here to help in other ways too. We have a few tools that may assist, like changing the frequency of your bills so you can get them just after you’ve been paid or smoothing out payments over the year to help with budgeting. If you’re having trouble paying your bills, please get in touch. 

Looking for some simple ways to help reduce your energy use and lower your bill? Check out our energy saving tips.

You can find out more about the information on your bill here.

Planning a move can be stressful but moving house with Contact is easy. Just let us know when you’re moving house (and a few other details) and we can get you transferred to your new home. Your plan will end, but don’t worry we will set you up with a new one. Click here to book your move.

We also offer broadband which you should be able to sign up for at your new place too. You can find out more here.

This can all be done in your own online account (“My Account”) or in our app:

• See daily, hourly, and monthly usage*
• See how what you do around your home affects your graph
• Check for any spikes, for example a faulty appliance that’s using more power

_{*Monthly view only for standard meter customers}

You can find more information for viewing your usage here.

There are other things you can do in My Account/app too like seeing a clearer version of your bill, paying it or giving us a meter read.