Wellington, NZ business power: Wellington Electricity, Electra and Powerco lines charges, the 2026 jump in fixed daily charges, winter peaks and what to check.
Quick answer
Wellington Electricity runs the lines for Wellington city, Porirua and the Hutt Valley; Electra covers Kāpiti and Powerco the Wairarapa. Wellington Electricity's delivery prices rose 14.3% on average for 2026/27 and most business fixed daily charges rose 20–30%, so for smaller business sites the fixed daily charge now outweighs usage charges unless usage is high.
Lines network
Wellington Electricity · Electra · Powerco
Main business centres
Wellington CBD · Lower Hutt · Upper Hutt · Porirua · Paraparaumu · Masterton
Three lines companies cover the Wellington region:
| Network | Main areas | Ownership and regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Wellington Electricity | Wellington city, Porirua, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt | Price-quality path set by the Commerce Commission |
| Electra | Kāpiti Coast, including Paekākāriki, Paraparaumu, Waikanae and Ōtaki | Owned by the Electra Trust for its consumers, so exempt from price-quality control |
| Powerco | Wairarapa, including Masterton | Price-quality path set by the Commerce Commission |
Wellington Electricity says it supplies more than 177,000 households and premises and over 400,000 people. The Commerce Commission has allowed it $426 million of capital spending between April 2025 and March 2030. The ICP number on your power bill tells you which network you're on. Electra's network carries on north into Horowhenua, on our Manawatū-Whanganui hub; for every other region, see our regional hubs.
Wellington Electricity groups business connections by size. Premises supplied from the low-voltage network are in its "general low voltage" categories. Sites with their own dedicated transformer are in its "general transformer" categories. Prices exclude GST and include transmission. On 1 April 2026, fixed daily lines charges rose faster than per-kWh rates:
| Category | Connection size | Daily charge 2025/26 | Daily charge 2026/27 | Per kWh 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLV15 | Up to 15 kVA | $1.25 | $1.52 | 4.66c |
| GLV69 | 15–69 kVA | $3.50 | $4.55 | 3.27c |
| GLV138 | 69–138 kVA | $12.81 | $15.48 | 3.89c |
| GLV300 | 138–300 kVA | $21.45 | $26.48 | 1.64c |
| GLV1500 | 300–1,500 kVA | $63.81 | $82.15 | 0.74c, plus $6.36 per kVA per month for demand |
For smaller business connections, the fixed charge is now the biggest part of the lines cost unless usage is high. A GLV69 site would need to use about 139 kWh a day before its usage charge matched its fixed charge. So the connection size you pay for matters more than trimming a few units. If your premises has been downsized or re-tenanted, check whether its capacity still matches what you actually use. Larger sites are different: a GLV1500 site's demand charge overtakes its fixed charge once its demand passes about 390 kVA.
Wellington Electricity says it is in year three of a multi-year shift in how transmission costs are shared between its commercial categories. It also says the 15–69 kVA category won't reach its cost-based target until the 2030s. It is still working on new prices for large commercial customers and is considering charging them based on actual network peaks. The company estimates that lines charges make up around 30–40% of a typical power bill.
Wellington Electricity moved to seasonal pricing in 2026/27 because its network peaks in winter. Its seasonal peak tariffs affect residential customers only. For smaller general connections, the change is a new 2c per kWh rebate for power exported at peak times, which applies during the winter peak. The company forecasts that demand from homes will grow as electric vehicles spread and households switch from gas to electricity for heating, hot water and cooking. By contrast, it forecasts commercial kWh volumes to fall 0.5% in 2026/27, in line with their four-year average.
Across the country, demand hit an all-time record of 7,415 MW on the morning of 6 August 2026 during a cold snap.
The Cook Strait link lands here. The HVDC link carries power between Benmore in the South Island and Haywards in the Hutt Valley. The Commerce Commission approved Transpower's $1.1 billion upgrade on 18 June 2026, with four new 40 km cables to be laid in 2031. The cost will be recovered through transmission charges once the cables are in service in the early 2030s.
Kāpiti and the Wairarapa work differently. Electra raised its target revenue by 13% to $70.6 million for 2026/27, and increased its consumer discount to $9.15 million. In the Wairarapa, sites supplied from the Masterton and Greytown grid exit points are in Powerco's higher-priced Zone B. Transpower is also investigating grid upgrades there, with over 1,000 MW of solar and wind in its connection pipeline for Tararua and the Wairarapa.
Professional services and government lead the economy. In Stats NZ's figures for the year to March 2024, professional, scientific and technical services (15.2%) and public administration (14.1%) made up almost 30% of the region's industry output. Business locations fell to 62,442 at February 2025, from 63,975 two years earlier.
Gas is getting dearer. Powerco's gas distribution charges in Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua rise by an average of 13.4% from 1 October 2026. See our guide to gas supply and business gas and LPG.
It depends on where your business is. Wellington Electricity covers Wellington city, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. Electra covers the Kāpiti Coast from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki. Powerco covers the Wairarapa. Your power bill shows your ICP number, and that identifies your network.
Wellington Electricity's delivery prices rose 14.3% on average for 2026/27. Most of that came from higher Commerce Commission allowances and higher Transpower charges. Fixed daily charges for most business categories rose about 20–30%. Wellington Electricity is also partway through a multi-year change in how it shares costs between its commercial categories.
It can. A power factor charge can apply when a site's power factor falls below 0.95 between 7am and 8pm on weekdays. Power factor correction equipment can often avoid this charge, so it's worth checking if your site runs a lot of motors or older lighting.
Yes. Electra is owned by its consumers through the Electra Trust. Its next discount will be paid through retail bills to qualifying customers as at 31 January 2027. For most customers, the fixed part of the discount is $0.5068 a day.
Powerco runs the gas distribution network in Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua. Its gas distribution charges rise by an average of 13.4% from 1 October 2026.
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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