The Commerce Commission says the average electricity bill is set to increase by $15 a month from April next year.
The commission has just announced its draft decision on what the major lines networks - including national grid Transpower - can recoup from consumers to fund what they spend. It will make a final decision in November. Transpower will be able to take in $5.8 billion in revenue in the five years to 2030 - a 43 per cent increase to its revenue for the five years to 2025.
Lines companies are allowed a 50 per cent increase in revenue over that period, which is $12 billion across 16 companies. Those include the country's biggest lines companies - Vector, Powerco, Wellington Electricity and Orion. Increased costs, replacing old infrastructure and higher demand are the key drivers to the increase.
The commission says increases will continue after that. Monthly bills will likely increase by an average of $5 - every year from 2026 to 2030. That puts average yearly bills $420 higher than they are now. The commission's infrastructure regulation commissioner Vhari McWha speaks to Kathryn.
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