Electricity Price Increases

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#3460150 10-Feb-2026 11:41

michaelmurfy:

Wouldn't it be nice of those companies using the gas like Methanex (51% gas use) or Fonterra (8% gas use) covered their share of the bill, not the average New Zealander who is already experiencing high power bills?

Methanex won't be sharing the cost because they are likely to close. Once that happens, the price of gas will rise very quickly. With electricity currently generated by gas during peak periods, and with no quick solution to this problem in sight, the average New Zealander would pay even more.

Behodar

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#3460151 10-Feb-2026 11:48

Can we get Chorus to put up some solar farms and then run electric cables through all the fibre ducts, bypassing the existing monopolies? 😁

stuartmac

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#3460191 10-Feb-2026 13:29

wsnz:

michaelmurfy:

Wouldn't it be nice of those companies using the gas like Methanex (51% gas use) or Fonterra (8% gas use) covered their share of the bill, not the average New Zealander who is already experiencing high power bills?

Methanex won't be sharing the cost because they are likely to close. Once that happens, the price of gas will rise very quickly. With electricity currently generated by gas during peak periods, and with no quick solution to this problem in sight, the average New Zealander would pay even more.

Because Methanex are under contract and are using 51% of our indigenous natural gas (so unavailable for peak and dry year electricity generation), we now need to import LNG at $US12-15/Gigajoule and sell it to Methanex at $NZ6/Gigajoule. And build a new LNG terminal.

wsnz

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#3460231 10-Feb-2026 15:47

stuartmac:

Because Methanex are under contract and are using 51% of our indigenous natural gas (so unavailable for peak and dry year electricity generation), we now need to import LNG at $US12-15/Gigajoule and sell it to Methanex at $NZ6/Gigajoule. And build a new LNG terminal.

That's not the scenario playing out here.

The gas that Methanex purchased under contract was made available for peak/dry year electricity generation as recently as last year. So it is possible to use their allocation for other purposes if required.

Methanex will not be purchasing the LNG. This proposal is in part, a response to the likely closure of the plant within the next 1-3 years. While the closure will free up gas reserves for other uses, it will cause a substantial increase in gas prices as the high cost of production will now need to be amortised across the relatively small volume of gas that remains being used. When gas prices rise sharply, so will electricity prices during dry years and winter peaks, when the gas peaker plants would otherwise operate.

Should Ballance also decide to cease operation of their Urea plant as well, things will become decidedly worse.

petearr

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#3460434 11-Feb-2026 09:02

Just got an email saying Frank Energy are putting their prices up from 19th March.
Going from:

Per Day : 1.76
Per kWh: 0.210

to:

Per Day : 2.2848
Per kWh: 0.2527

TBH I thought they would have fully shut down by now. Might be time to finally jump ship.

Behodar

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#3460453 11-Feb-2026 09:28

Ugh. I'm with Frank but don't have the email yet (although I'm not sure whether everyone gets it at the same time or whether it varies by lines company - I'm with Horizon). Let's see what happens...

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Behodar

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#3460667 11-Feb-2026 15:32

Alas, I now have an email. Also from 19 March.

Daily $1.20 -> $1.445
/kWh 25.9c -> 31.13c

Quite a jump.

wellygary

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#3460675 11-Feb-2026 15:43

If your daily charge rates are significantly increasing, then its highly likely you've previously been on the "low use rate"

The Power companies have been spreading the pain every year since 2022, when it was capped at 30c/day + GST - There is likely one more step to go next year

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-consultations-and-reviews/electricity-price/mid-point-review-of-the-phase-out-of-the-low-fixed-charge-lfc-regulations

mattwnz

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#3460731 11-Feb-2026 16:13

wellygary:

If your daily charge rates are significantly increasing, then its highly likely you've previously been on the "low use rate"

The Power companies have been spreading the pain every year since 2022, when it was capped at 30c/day + GST - There is likely one more step to go next year

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-consultations-and-reviews/electricity-price/mid-point-review-of-the-phase-out-of-the-low-fixed-charge-lfc-regulations

The thing is the unit rate is supposed them also drop to compensate for that daily increase, according to the electricity authorities graph on this. But I wonder how many energy companies are just using it as a way to increase profit and margins, based on the increasing profit they are making.

wellygary

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#3460737 11-Feb-2026 16:32

mattwnz:

The thing is the unit rate is supposed them also drop to compensate for that daily increase, according to the electricity authorities graph on this. But I wonder how many energy companies are just using it as a way to increase profit and margins, based on the increasing profit they are making.

Probably most of them, they'll argue that yes its also going up, but its not going up as much as it would have....

Pricing is so opaque its impossible to actually verify anything,,

rb99

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#3460863 12-Feb-2026 09:21

Fortunately our forward thinking government is ensuring that we'll reach this happy 'state' soon as well -

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2514985-this-states-power-prices-are-plummeting-as-it-nears-100-renewables/

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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#3464675 25-Feb-2026 13:03

Just had an e-mail from Genesis advising pricing going up, it's a steep one too

Genesis to date have been including all these small discounts which they used to replace the Prompt Payment Discount, that is ending.

Also the daily line charge is increasing from 90c to $1.46 (rounded)

Am pleased I got Solar installed and got rid of the Natural Gas but this will still be a notable rise

Edit: no change to the Solar Buy-Rate rate either

alisam

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#3464681 25-Feb-2026 13:30

DjShadow:

Also the daily line charge is increasing from 90c to $1.46 (rounded)

Is $1.46 GST Inclusive or Exclusive. My new Mercury Rate will be $1.50 Exclusive.

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#3464689 25-Feb-2026 13:31

Exclusive.

Now they have got rid of the mini discounts it will make it a bit easier to use Powerswitch

wellygary

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#3464698 25-Feb-2026 13:44

nitro:

the daily rate is defined as the cost to supply electricity to the property. why would that be different in the same locale?

Because the amount of power provided over the year could be higher,

Daily rates are not a single flat connection charge, they are also based on how much of the overall network is needed to supply your property,

So if you use more Kwh, its highly likely you'll end up with a higher daily rate than a property consuming less, as there will be parts of the overall network that get allocated back to connection costs based on their overall share of total network cost..

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