Electricity Lines Tariff Reduction Announced

Media Release
27 February 2015

For immediate release

Electricity Lines Tariff Reduction Announced

Wellington Electricity Lines Limited, the electricity lines company for the Wellington region, has today confirmed a reduction in their line charges that will take effect from 1 April 2015.

For Wellington business and residential consumers this will mean the electricity lines charge portion of their tariff, which is around 30 - 40% of the total bill, will reduce by around 10% for the 12 months starting 1 April 2015. The final impact on consumer bills will vary dependent upon the price plan they are on, their annual consumption and market variations.

"We would expect this price decrease to be passed onto consumers by energy retailers," says Greg Skelton, Chief Executive of Wellington Electricity. "Consumers should therefore check the information they receive from their energy retailer to understand how this will impact on their actual electricity bill," says Skelton.

Electricity line charges are subject to Government regulation (Commerce Commission for price setting and the Electricity Authority for market behaviour).

"Prices were expected to decline, as we indicated last year when we included a one-off increase in the lines charge to recover our costs at that time," says Skelton. "It is very important to both regulators that lines charges are transparent and that's why we are making this public announcement at this time," he says.

Wellington Electricity's major costs include renewing equipment and maintenance on, and development of, the lines network.

"Wellington Electricity is always investing in its infrastructure to ensure the ongoing quality of its performance. We will continue to look at our requirements and as a result the price may well vary from year to year, depending on the work required and services required by our consumers. Getting the balance between price and supply quality is important and something we look forward to discussing further with consumers later this year," he says.

"One of the big impacts on our network is winter storms and while we provide for these possibilities, we can't predict how severe they will be and the extent of damage they may bring. Consumers can help protect the network and the reliability of their supply by ensuring that trees and other vegetation on their property are well clear of power lines. Good tree management could also save them from the inconvenience of a power cut," advises Skelton.

More information is available at www.welectricity.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media