Personal / Electricity / About our network / Pricing

electricity pricing

Vector’s line charges include the cost charged to Vector by Transpower for delivering electricity across Transpower's national grid to Vector’s network and the price relating to the cost of delivering electricity across our distribution network. Line charges are generally billed to you by your electricity retailer.

Our annual price changes are limited to that required to achieve the net allowable revenue prescribed by the Commerce Commission in its Electricity Distribution Services Default Price-Quality Path Determination 2020 (DPP) plus changes in pass-through and recoverable costs (e.g. Transpower transmission charges, council rates, statutory levies and other regulatory allowances) and a revenue wash-up from any under or over-recovery from previous pricing years. In November 2021, it is estimated that our line charges accounted for approximately 36% of an average residential consumer's bill, which include Transpower's charges which account for about 9% of an average residential consumer bill.

See our price schedules effective from 1 April 2021.
See our price schedules effective from 1 April 2022.

Our previous prices are available within our Annual Price Reviews here.

consumer-led pricing design

We are helping to create a new energy future, in which pricing plays an important role. We are engaging with consumers to ensure we deliver the pricing plans they want. Our current pricing ‘roadmap’ is located here, and was updated in May 2022.

Further line charge informationOther information

Time of use pricing

A two-part time of use (TOU) price structure is mandatory for all residential consumers where the retailer obtains the interval data from the consumer’s smart meter. The TOU structure has a daily fixed price with different volumetric prices depending on the time period when the electricity is used, that has peak time pricing during 7am-11am and 5pm-9pm weekdays and off-peak pricing during other times. For residential consumers without smart meters or where their retailer doesn’t obtain smart meter interval data, an anytime volumetric price is applied instead.

TOU pricing means that during peak times our volumetric prices will be higher than during off-peak times, which better reflect the costs of electricity distribution and transmission as high electricity demand puts pressure on the electricity networks.

TOU is the best current overall candidate for a standard price structure resulting from a thorough recent review of our price structures balancing the trade-off between competing goals such as cost reflectivity, simplicity, acceptability and bill impact, underpinned by regulatory requirements including the Low User Fixed Charge Regulations and Electricity Authority’s Pricing Principles.

TOU pricing offers residential consumers the ability to reduce their electricity bill by shifting some electricity use from peak to off-peak times. Please contact your retailer to see if they are offering a TOU plan that passes through to you the benefits of our TOU pricing. A smart meter capable of communicating interval consumption data is required.

Controlled pricing

Previously, we merged our residential controlled and gas price categories for electricity consumers into the controlled price categories. These were previously priced at the same rates and designed to reward residential consumers for the benefit these households deliver to us in helping to reduce load during peak periods, via electrical hot water load control system or gas connections which typically use less electricity during peak periods. Consumers with an electrical hot water cylinder connected to our Load Control System or with an active gas ICP connection to our gas distribution network are eligible for the controlled price categories.

From 1 April 2022, we are expanding the eligibility criteria for the residential TOU controlled price categories to include consumers with smart electric vehicle chargers with IP addresses that are capable of being connected to Vector's distributed energy resources management system (DERMS).

If you want to know whether you’re eligible for the controlled price plan and would benefit from making a switch, get in touch with your electricity retailer.

Low user fixed charge

In September 2021, the Government agreed to phase-out the Low User Fixed Charge Regulations from 1 April 2022. These regulations set a maximum low fixed charge of 30 cents per day (excluding GST) that we and your retailer could offer to residential consumers who use less than 8,000kWh per year. The low user price categories have a combination of low daily charges and higher variable charges when compared with our standard price categories.

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. Each year, the maximum low fixed charge will increase by 30 cents (excluding GST). The increase in the fixed line charge because of the phasing-out of the regulations will result in a decrease to the volumetric line charges. While the regulations set the maximum amount, retailers may choose to set lower rates for their low fixed charges.

While the regulations are being phased out, it still pays to check with your retailer that you’re on the right plan. if you are a low-use electricity consumer, using less than 8,000kWh per year, the low fixed charge price categories could still be cheaper for you so it may pay to check with your retailer to see if you’re eligible for these price categories.

Your electricity retailer should inform you at least annually of how much energy you use, and whether it may be beneficial for you to switch to a low fixed charge price category. If you want to know how much electricity you use, which price category you are on or whether you are eligible for a low fixed charge price category, get in touch with your retailer - it could save you money.