Why is my power bill so high?

If you’ve opened your latest power bill and felt a bit shocked, you’re not the only one.

Power prices across New Zealand have been climbing, and there are a few reasons why your bill might be higher than you expected.

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1. Prices are rising everywhere.

Wholesale electricity costs have been going up, and most retailers have passed those increases on. The Electricity Authority has noted that prices have been “steadily climbing”, partly because of limited competition between the big gentailers. We’ve been fighting for reform on this. Our CEO Huia recently spoke to RNZ about this very issue.

But right now higher generation and network costs mean you’re almost certainly paying more per unit of power this year than you were last year, no matter who you’re with.

2. You may simply be using more.

Winter in NZ is tough on power bills. Running heaters or heat pumps when it’s freezing outside chews through electricity. A home in Central Otago likely needs way more power to stay warm than a similar one in Auckland, for example. Extra people at home or big appliances running can add to the spike too. It’s worth checking your usage (in kWh) against the same time last year – you might find the increase is down to higher consumption.

3. Plan or pricing changes.

For a long time, NZ had two main plan types: low user and standard. Low user plans have a small daily charge but a high per-unit cost, and were designed for households using under 8,000 kWh a year.

If your usage has gone up (say you’ve added a spa pool, added more people to your household, or bought an EV) but you’re still on a low user plan, you could be paying more than you need to.

Switching to a standard plan might actually save money. On top of that, the government is phasing out low user plans altogether, which means daily charges have been steadily increasing each April across all power companies.

4. Other one-off factors.

Sometimes a high bill is caused by something out of the ordinary. It could be an appliance running inefficiently, or your hot water cylinder leaking.

You can try and do a quick DIY load test yourself to see if there’s something in particular using more power than it should.

Head to the ‘load’ screen on your meter:

1. The number you see is your current energy use in kilowatts (kW) per hour
2. Flick everything off at the wall, and jot down the kW number on screen.
3. Turn on each appliance you want to check one by one.
4. Take another look at the load screen after you test each one - the difference shows you how much power that appliance is using.
5. Switch it off, test the next one, and see which gadgets are the real power munchers.

If something looks really off, double-check your meter number and reach out to your provider if it doesn't match up.

What can you do about it?

Start by getting visibility on your usage. Our handy app lets you track how much power you’re using and when. Our app lets you see your daily and even half hourly usage, so you can spot any spikes or unusual patterns.

Then look at ways to shift or reduce usage. Every Electric Kiwi customer gets an Hour of Power (one free off-peak hour every day). Using that wisely for things like washing, heating or charging devices can make a big difference.

If you’re regularly using a lot of power at night, our MoveMaster plan could help too, with cheaper rates during off-peak and overnight hours.

Or, check our GO250 plan which provides free power on Sundays for the first year, plus great peak and off-peak rates.

There's a bunch more info around shifting your usage and the benefits (not just on your wallet) here.

We hope you can see there are more options out there than just the big names. At Electric Kiwi, we’re fighting for you and are doing everything we can to keep pricing sharp.

Bottom line: bills are up across the country, but with the right plan and the right tools, you can take back control. We’re here to help make that easier.

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