Are business gas pipeline charges changing from 1 October 2026?

Yes. On 1 October 2026 a new five-year price path for New Zealand's gas pipelines begins, and the networks have published higher prices to match: Vector's standard prices rise by a weighted average of 12.7%, Powerco's charges by an average of 13.4%, and Firstgas Distribution's business categories by an estimated 11.42% to 11.46%. Pipeline charges are only about a third of the bill, so on their own they add far less to the whole bill.

What changes on 1 October 2026?

The Commerce Commission regulates gas pipelines as natural monopolies. On 27 May 2026 it set the fourth default price-quality path (DPP4), which sets revenue limits for Firstgas Transmission, Firstgas Distribution, GasNet, Powerco and Vector from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2031.

Each business gets a one-off "starting price" step on 1 October, then prices held flat in real terms, apart from Vector's. The Commission's figures are real (excluding inflation) and exclude pass-through and recoverable costs, such as council rates and statutory levies:

Source: Commerce Commission, final decision reasons paper, 27 May 2026.

The Commission also trimmed what the networks planned. It allowed 7% less capital spending than they had planned, and operating allowances 5% below their asset management plans (Commerce Commission, 27 May 2026).

How much are network prices rising for businesses?

The networks have now published their actual prices, which are nominal (they include inflation and pass-through costs), so they run higher than the Commission's real figures:

Sources: Vector; Powerco pricing schedule; Firstgas notice to retailers, 5 August 2026; GasNet price schedule.

Three details matter for businesses. Vector kept its price categories and applied the same weighted average increase to fixed and variable prices, to avoid materially different percentage changes within its standard consumer groups. Firstgas raised its business categories more than twice as much as its residential one in percentage terms. And in every Powerco commercial load group (G12 to G18), the fixed daily charge rose by more in percentage terms than the per-GJ charge, so within a group the lower a site's gas use, the bigger its percentage rise.

Why are pipeline charges rising while gas use falls?

Because fewer customers will be left to pay for the same pipes. The Commission says the long-term outlook of declining gas use creates a risk that networks will not recover their full costs. To head that off it completed a move to shorter regulatory asset lives, bringing depreciation forward into this period so costs are not left to "a smaller group of future consumers". The Commission says this does not increase the total consumers are expected to pay over the networks' lifetimes, and pipeline costs are "largely fixed", so they do not fall when less gas flows.

Falling volumes add to it. Under the distribution price cap, prices were effectively fixed during the last period while volumes on GasNet, Powerco and Vector fell further than forecast, so the new allowance is spread over less gas.

Supply is tightening too. MBIE figures reported by Gas Industry Co show 1P reserves (the 90% confidence estimate) fell 24.6% in a year, from 599.3 PJ to 451.7 PJ, and the Māui field is expected to stop producing by the end of 2026. Our guide to New Zealand's gas squeeze and business energy costs covers the supply picture in full.

What does it mean for a business gas bill?

Transmission and distribution together make up around one-third of residential and small commercial gas bills. On that basis, and assuming no change in the rest of the bill, the Commission estimates bills rise, in real terms:

• about 1% to 3% in the first year, then flat, on the Firstgas Distribution, GasNet and Powerco networks; and
• about 3% in each of the first three years on Vector's network.

The Commission adds that overall gas bills will likely move by more than this, because it expects the underlying gas price to rise as supply falls.

It expects "standard commercial" users to see similar percentage changes to households, which in dollars means more, because businesses use more gas (Commerce Commission). About 13,000 commercial and 400 industrial users are on the pipeline networks, all in the North Island.

The heaviest users are the hardest to predict. Powerco says industrial and commercial customers use over 60% of the gas it delivers, and 30% of its roughly 90 larger commercial and industrial customers are food processors. The Commission says it cannot robustly estimate impacts on commercial and industrial users, and that impacts will vary with individual circumstances and contracts, particularly for larger users connected to the Firstgas Transmission network.

In Taranaki, Firstgas limited its transmission capacity fee increase to $14 per GJ of reserved capacity a year, against $38 at most delivery points, "to minimise price shock to this region". More on the region: our Taranaki hub.

What can a business control, and what can't it?

You cannot choose your pipeline network, and on standard prices you cannot negotiate its charges; your ICP decides which network you are on. Very large users are the exception: Powerco, for example, offers non-standard tariffs to large commercial and industrial customers (Powerco pricing methodology). What you can do:

1. Check your price category. Network prices depend on your gas flow rate and use. Powerco, for example, puts restaurants, office buildings and small to mid-sized motels in load group G12, and hotels, large motels and shopping complexes in G14. If your equipment has changed, ask whether your category still fits.
2. Read your contract for pass-through terms. Retailers decide how and when network changes reach you, so check whether your rate is fixed or passes network charges through.
3. Look at the whole bill, not just the network line. The Commission expects the underlying gas price to rise too, and the gas component is not regulated.
4. Compare before you renew. See what we compare for business gas and LPG, or check your address or ICP to see what a new contract could look like.

For how the same network logic works on a power bill, see lines charges explained.