If you’re looking for a simple plan, our Basic plan might be a good place to start. You can always change to another plan later by signing in to My Account.
There’s a few things to consider when you’re deciding on an energy plan:
- Do you need gas or broadband as well? Consider any other services you need along with electricity
- Is your property a 4-bedroom house, a bach or an apartment? Think about how you’ll be using power there
- Have you thought about a plan with cheaper rates at certain times of the day? We have plans with free and cheaper rates at night
- Do you have an electric car you charge at home? You could recharge all night with a plan designed with electric vehicles in mind
If you’re already with us, you can sign into My Account and go to 'Change plan'. Here you’ll see all the plans you’re eligible for.
Here you’ll see the name of your current plan and any additional services that you have, like broadband or gas.
You can also find the name of your plan on your PDF bill. It is not shown on your digital bill.
Here you’ll be shown the different plans available to you.
You won’t be able sign up for a broadband plan if:
- you’re on a prepay plan
- you have weekly or fortnightly billing
- you have ‘time of use’ meter
- you’re a business customer
You’ll also have to make sure you don’t have any overdue debt with us.
When you sign up for broadband, we’ll let you know what type of broadband is available where you live – fibre or wireless.
If you have an electricity account with us, the quickest and easiest way to check is to:
- sign in to My Account
- go to the main menu and select 'Change Plan'
Here you’ll be able to see what types of broadband are available to you based on your address.
If you’re not already with Contact, you’ll need to have your electricity with us before you can sign up for broadband. See details of all our current broadband offers and bundles.
Standard user plans have:
- a higher daily charge
- lower price per unit than low user electricity plans
If you use more than 8,000 kWh of electricity at your main home, you will generally be better off on a standard user plan. This increases to 9,000 kWh in some parts of the lower South Island.
You can check how much energy you’re using by viewing your usage graphs in My Account.
Low user plans aren’t available for holiday homes or businesses.
Think a low user plan might be better for you? Change user plan.
When you join an electricity company, you can choose between low user and standard user plans. This depends on how much energy you think you’ll use.
Low user plans have:
- a lower daily charge which is capped by government regulations
- higher price per unit compared to standard electricity plans
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.
Note: If you’re on a plan that includes free usage, this will depend on how much power you use in the free period.
You can check much energy you’re using by viewing your usage graphs in My Account.
Low user plans aren’t available for holiday homes or businesses.
Think a standard user plan might be better for you? Change user plan.
A fixed daily charge appears on your bill as a ‘cents per day’ or ‘dollars per day’ amount. It is based on if you are a low or standard user and what meter setup you have.
It’s made up of things like meter rentals, overhead costs (including meter reading) and usually a fixed fee charged by network operators or lines companies.
We’ve made our plans simpler and fairer to make sure you won’t miss out if you’re not able to pay your full bill by the due date.
There’s a few different things that affect pricing, including how your meter is set up. This is called your tariff.
The price you pay per unit (kilowatt per hour) depends on:
- where you live – different lines companies or networks in different regions have different ways of pricing
- how your meter is set up – some examples include Anytime, Night, All day economy and Night Boost
- whether you are a standard or low user
The way a meter is set up is usually decided by whoever built the property and is based on how the property is used. For example, the meter setup for a four-bedroom house with a garage will have a different meter setup to a one-bedroom flat.
Different meter setups will have different unit rates. This will decide your final price in your selected plan.
We can organise to change your meter setup. There is a cost for this, and an electrician may need to do some work at your property first.
At the moment, fibre installation is subsidised by the government and is usually free. In some cases, you may need to pay it is considered a “non-standard” installation. For example, if you live down a really long driveway.
Before it is installed, your local fibre company will get in touch to arrange for a technician to meet at your house to talk through and agree on your installation plan. They will let you know if you’ll need to pay anything.
Joining Contact is easy online, you can sign up for electricity, gas or broadband here.
To set up an account we need the following information:
- Date of birth
- Contact number
- Email address
- Property address
- Move in date if applicable
You will need to have your address and current NZ drivers' license handy. To sign up with us, you will need to agree to and pass a credit check.
Other forms of ID we accept are:
- 18+ Kiwi Access Identification Card
- NZ or overseas passport that is current, or expired in the last 2 years (we require a copy of the main page only showing ALL the details including photograph/number/date of issue etc this can be copied or photographed)
- NZ Firearms Licence
- Student ID from a NZ educational institute
- Birth Certificate (if no other ID is available). If you have changed your name, you'll need to supply the documentation for this. For example, a marriage certificate or Deed Poll documents
Other forms of ID will need to be sent to us to be processed, you can send them here:
- Email - creditinfo@contactenergy.co.nz
- Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp
- Post - address the letter: attention Credit Solutions, Contact Energy PO Box 38721, Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt 5045
Sometimes it can be hard to find the correct address in our national electricity registry, this can be because the data is out of date or does not match your postal address.
It’s easy to change your plan in your account.
This depends on your current plan.
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