Electricity cost and price monitoring
This page has 2 types of data: household sales-based electricity cost data, and publicly advertised retail electricity tariff data.
On this page
About electricity cost and price monitoring
We use sales-based data to monitor average residential, commercial and industrial electricity costs — essentially total electricity sales divided by the quantity of electricity supplied. The latest data can be found in the Prices data table.
Household sales-based electricity cost data is complemented by the Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices (QSDEP) indicator.
Household sales-based electricity cost data
We monitor national residential electricity costs, using information about national electricity sales.
This data:
- is based on the actual volume of electricity sold and the total revenue, giving the average cost per kilowatt-hour paid by residential consumers
- is available only at a national level
- is updated quarterly
- includes:
- prompt payment, multi-fuel and online discounts
- incentive and retention payments
- rates paid by customers on fixed-term plans.
Sales-based electricity costs for residential [XLSX, 139 KB]
Care with interpretation
Changes in the quarterly cost per unit data should be interpreted with care, because:
- the cost per unit of electricity used increases as average electricity demand decreases (and vice versa). This is because some parts of customers’ electricity bills are fixed daily costs
- if demand in a given period is lower, then the average cost per unit used is higher because the fixed costs are spread across fewer units.
Method for sales-based electricity costs
Residential cost data is derived from information obtained primarily from electricity retailers, and is based on sales of delivered electricity.
We collect the:
- total value of sales
- total volume of electricity sold, and
- number of connections.
The residential electricity cost per unit is derived by dividing the dollar value of residential electricity sales by the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) sold to residential customers.
The survey also reports the 'lines' component of the residential costs. This covers both the distribution and transmission components of the residential costs.
(external link)Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices (QSDEP)
The QSDEP is an average price series based on certain assumption, which complements the sales-based electricity cost data.
The QSDEP indicator:
- monitors tariffs publicly advertised in the retail electricity market on a particular date, and
- is a measure of how the published residential electricity tariffs have changed over time.
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2024 [PDF, 291 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2024 [XLSX, 3.6 MB]
Note: A time-series of the price indicator is available in the raw data sheet of the Excel version above.
QSDEP user survey
If you are a user of the QSDEP we are interested in finding out more about how you use it, and how it meets your needs currently.
When the QSDEP for 15th February 2021 was published we ran an online user survey. The online survey is now closed, however if you would still like to provide us with feedback you can download the survey questions below.
QSDEP user survey [PDF, 95 KB]
Please use these questions to frame feedback you have on the QSDEP and email a copy to energydata@mbie.govt.nz with "QSDEP User Survey" in the subject line.
The information you send us will be used to inform any updates to the QSDEP in the future. We are also looking to review the way that we calculate the 'Transmission' and 'Distribution' components of the QSDEP across lines company areas. A section of the survey sought feedback on this specific part of the QSDEP in particular.
If you have any questions about the survey please email us at energydata@mbie.govt.nz with "QSDEP User Survey" in the subject line.
Method for the QSDEP
A limited selection of publicly advertised retail tariffs are surveyed for around 40 towns and cities across New Zealand.
Prices are surveyed as a snapshot at the mid-point of each quarter (15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November each year).
The average prices are quoted for a modelled consumer using around 22 kWh per day (8000 kWh of electricity per year) with a typical metering configuration in cents per kWh (c/kWh).
An average regional price across all retailers is published, weighted by market share.
Prices:
- include Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- assume that prompt payment discounts are claimed
- represent the total cost of electricity to a residential consumer, including the line charge component
- don't include multi-fuel and online discounts, incentive or retention payments, or rates paid by customers on fixed-term plans
The line charge figures represent the total (fixed and variable) cost of electricity transmission and distribution.
For more technical information about this survey, see the key assumptions document.
Discounts and distributions in year to 31 March 2019 [PDF, 497 KB]
Example
An electricity retailer may charge a consumer 100 cents/day and 22c/kWh of electricity consumed.
This would cost an 8,000 kWh per annum customer:
- $2125 per annum — that is, ((100x365)+(22x8000))/100, or
- 26.6 c/kWh — that is, (2125/8000)x100.
If the Retailer offered a 10% prompt payment discount, the final cost to the consumer would be 23.9 c/kWh.
The line charge component is calculated in a similar manner (all figures include GST).
Discounts and distributions
Prices in the QSDEP don't include any ownership-based discounts and distributions from consumer trusts. If these were included, the prices would be lower.
More information about these discounts and distributions can be found in the analysis report.
Line company discount and energy trust distribution analysis 2019 [PDF, 497 KB]
Retailer-specific information
From the release of the 15 May 2014 QSDEP, no retailer-specific information is published. Information about retailer-specific prices within a region is available from the PowerSwitch website.
PowerSwitch website(external link)
Previous surveys
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2024 [PDF, 352 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2024 [XLSX, 6.7 MB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2024 [PDF, 297 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2024 [XLSX, 3.6 MB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2023 [PDF, 295 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2023 [XLSX, 239 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2023 [PDF, 297 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2023 [XLSX, 232 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2023 [PDF, 305 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2023 [XLSX, 279 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2023 [PDF, 366 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2023 [XLSX, 276 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2022 [PDF, 235 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2022 [XLSX, 272 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 Aug 2022 [PDF, 403 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 Aug 2022 [XLSX, 272 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2022 [PDF, 337 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2022 [XLSX, 268 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 December 2021 [PDF, 366 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 December 2021 [XLSX, 267 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2021 [PDF, 221 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2021 [XLSX, 269 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2021 [PDF, 988 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2021 [XLSX, 261 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2021 [PDF, 986 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2021 [XLSX, 303 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2021 [PDF, 191 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2021 [XLSX, 300 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2020 [PDF, 1009 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2020 [XLSX, 256 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2020 [PDF, 704 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2020 [XLSX, 254 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2020 [PDF, 601 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2020 [XLSX, 258 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2020 [PDF, 633 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2020 [XLSX, 254 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2019 [PDF, 581 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 November 2019 [XLSX, 249 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2019 [XLSX, 247 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 August 2019 [PDF, 599 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2019 [PDF, 576 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 May 2019 [XLSX, 251 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2019 [PDF, 633 KB]
Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices to 15 February 2019 [XLSX, 247 KB]
For older surveys, our Archive page has information about how to access archived publications and documents.