New Zealand households should brace for another big bump in power prices in the year ahead. Consumer NZ expects power prices to increase by about 5% this year.
The price predictions from Consumer NZ come at a time when nearly half of all New Zealanders are concerned about the cost of their household energy after households were hit with a 12% increase to power bills last year.
Consumer recommends budgeting for an increase to power bills from the end of April. Customers can expect line charges alone to climb by an average of $5 per month through to 2029.
Power bills are hiking up because of an increase in lines charges’ costs – that’s the cost of delivering power to your house, and it’s the amount on your bill that stays the same regardless of how much power you use,” said Paul Fuge, Powerswitch manager.
The lines charge makes up just over one-third of the power bill, and a small hike to that fixed cost makes a big difference to monthly bills.
“The lines charge will add an average of $5 per month to your bill, but this figure will vary depending on where you live and who your retailer is. As well as the fixed costs, we expect consumers will face increases to the cost of electricity they use too,” said Fuge.
The cost of running and maintaining the electricity networks has increased, and this cost flows through to people’s power bills.
Consumer’s research found that, last winter, one in five New Zealanders went to bed early to stay warm, one-quarter of people went without heating when it was cold and nearly one in five people cut back on food or other essentials to pay a power bill.
“Based on our price predictions for 2026, we think the situation will only get worse,” says Fuge.
Consumer’s tips for managing power price surges include checking you’re on cheapest plan, check in with Powerswitch after 1 April to see if there are further savings you could make by switching then, and do your power-hungry activities, like running your washing machine and dryer, in off-peak periods.
