Nelson Tasman, NZ business power: Network Tasman's 2026 merger with Nelson Electricity, separate Nelson and Tasman lines prices, and who gets the line discount.
Quick answer
Network Tasman runs the lines across Nelson Tasman but prices central Nelson and the wider Tasman network separately. Business connections from 20 kVA pay a daily charge per kVA of capacity, and larger sites also pay demand charges. Only Tasman-network connections, including Stoke, get the twice-yearly line charge discount. There is no piped natural gas.
Lines network
Network Tasman
Main business centres
Nelson · Richmond · Stoke · Motueka · Tākaka · Murchison
Since 31 March 2026, one company has run the lines for the whole region. Until 2025, Nelson Electricity was owned half by Network Tasman and half by Marlborough Lines. On 31 March 2025, Network Tasman bought Marlborough Lines' share. The two companies then merged into one from 31 March 2026. Nelson Electricity's website now says all network services are provided by Network Tasman.
The merger did not create a single price list. Network Tasman runs two network areas, and each has its own prices:
| Network area | What it covers | Approx. connections | Line charge discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasman network | Wider Tasman and Golden Bay (including Murchison), areas north of Nelson, and Stoke, Tāhunanui and Atawhai | 43,000 | Yes, paid twice a year |
| Nelson network | Central Nelson: the CBD, most of the Port, Port Hills, Nelson South, Toi Toi, the Brook, the Wood and Nelson East | 10,000 | No |
Network Tasman decides which network you are on from where your installation physically is. On the Nelson network, your ICP number carries the code "CT" just before the checksum at the end.
Network Tasman is owned by its consumers through the Network Tasman Trust. The trust's beneficiaries are people in the area Network Tasman has always supplied. Although it is trust-owned, Network Tasman is regulated by the Commerce Commission. The Commission's final decision on 5 March 2026 combined the two companies' revenue limits and quality standards, applying from 1 April 2025. For the neighbouring networks, see our Marlborough and West Coast hubs, or all of our regional hubs.
Network Tasman puts connections into load groups based on how much capacity they can draw. Within each group, lines charges depend on how you use power: uncontrolled, controlled, day or night, peak or off-peak, summer or winter. Its 2026/27 schedule, from 1 April 2026, prices the two networks separately (all excl. GST):
Both capacity charges rose this year: the Tasman rate from 12.6c per kVA and the Nelson rate from 9.4c. Because Group 2 and Group 3 connections pay for capacity, check that your connection size still matches your business. And on the Tasman network, the discount returns about half of the uncontrolled per-kWh lines charge.
Network Tasman has paid network discounts since 1994. The discount is calculated per kWh and paid twice a year, in autumn and spring, as a credit on your retail bill, usually labelled "Network Tasman Line Charge Discount". To qualify, a connection must be active, metered and on the Tasman network at midnight on the eligibility date. The discount goes to the account holder at that time, not the property owner. That matters for leased premises and property sales. A business with several eligible ICPs gets a separate discount for each one.
The spring 2026 discount, based on usage from 1 April to 30 August 2026, went to connections eligible on 21 September and is due on bills from late September. The next eligibility dates are 19 April 2027 and 20 September 2027.
Tasman-network consumers also receive a separate annual payment from the Network Tasman Trust. Central Nelson connections don't receive either payment. Network Tasman says the trust money belongs to the trust's beneficiaries, and paying it more widely would likely breach the trust deed.
There is no piped gas. New Zealand's gas pipeline networks are limited to the North Island. So when a business here moves its heating or process heat onto electricity, that new load shows up in its capacity and demand charges.
Primary manufacturing is a big part of the economy. In Stats NZ's figures for the year to March 2024, primary manufacturing and construction each made up about 9% of Nelson Tasman's industry output. Nationally, primary manufacturing made up about 5%. At February 2025, the region had 14,703 business locations employing 52,000 people.
Network Tasman supplies the whole region. Until 31 March 2026, central Nelson was supplied by Nelson Electricity, which has now merged into Network Tasman. Network Tasman still runs central Nelson as a separate network area with its own prices, so check which area your ICP is in.
Your supply and your retailer stay the same, and retailers and Network Tasman handle the changeover. Network Tasman says it will keep setting different prices for the Nelson and Tasman networks, to reflect what each costs to run. Revenue from both stays within the limit set by the Commerce Commission.
Only if your site is on the Tasman network, which includes Stoke, Tāhunanui and Atawhai as well as the rest of Tasman. Connections on the central Nelson network (the CBD, most of the Port, Nelson South, the Wood, the Brook, Toi Toi and Nelson East) do not receive it, and that did not change with the merger. The discount is paid twice a year, calculated per kWh, and credited through your retailer as a line charge discount.
The discount goes to whoever is named on the power account for that connection at midnight on the eligibility date. The connection must be active and metered. It is credited against the lines charge rather than paid in cash, so leases and property sale agreements should say how it is shared.
Network Tasman decides by where your installation physically is. ICPs on the Nelson network (formerly Nelson Electricity) carry the network code 'CT' just before the checksum at the end of the ICP number. Stoke, Tāhunanui and Atawhai are on the Tasman network; the CBD, most of the Port, Nelson South, the Wood, the Brook, Toi Toi and Nelson East are on the Nelson network.
Primary sources first. Every figure on this page comes from one of these, each with the date we last accessed it.
Last updated by the Manage My Bills Energy Team.
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