North Canterbury electricity customers received a share of a $9.7 million rebate on their lines charges during the 2018-19 financial year.
Lines charges make up approximately 27% of an electricity bill and are charged via retailers, based on the customer’s power usage.
The rebate is passed onto all retailers on the MainPower network through our invoicing of lines charges and is generally shown as a discount on customers’ monthly power bills, however some retailers have recently stopped showing this as a separate item on their invoices and are instead showing bundled charges.
MainPower Chief Executive Andy Lester said “We’ve had some customers get in touch, concerned that their MainPower rebate had disappeared from the power bill they receive from some retailers. We want to reassure our shareholders that their rebates are still being deducted from their power bill each month, as usual. Ideally we would like all retailers to show the MainPower rebates on the bill each month, however unfortunately it is ultimately the retailer’s decision how they structure their invoices to their customers”
Electricity Authority figures show that the average household uses around 7,000 kWh per year. A MainPower customer using around 7,000 kWh per year would have received around $421.00 in rebates.
If customers are interested to know the exact amount they have received as a rebate, they can check with their electricity retailer.
Lines charges are used to cover the costs of maintaining around $270 million dollars of assets in the North Canterbury electricity distribution network, enabling MainPower to provide a safe and reliable supply of electricity to this growing region.
