South Island · 5 network regions
Power prices in Canterbury
What a household in Canterbury pays for electricity, what makes up the bill, and how it has moved since January 2025 — on the Electricity Authority's own monthly series.
Average monthly bill, March 2026
$246a month, standard user, incl GST
- Low user
- $168 a month, on 377 kWh
- Daily charge
- $3.10 standard · $1.57 low user
- Unit rate
- 26.71c standard · 32.86c low user
- Against other regions
- 9th dearest of 14
An unweighted average of the 5 Electricity Authority network reporting regions in Canterbury. This is our derivation from the EA's published figures, not a published regional average. The EA publishes by network region, and the per-network rows it was computed from are shown below, unaltered. Electricity Authority Regional power prices, March 2026, GST inclusive — the EA states these figures inclusive of GST, unlike its lines-component datasets. See the source data.
Since January 2025
How the Canterbury bill has moved
The Electricity Authority has published this series monthly since January 2025. Over that period the average standard-user bill in Canterbury has moved from $232 to $246 a month.
- Change since January 2025
- +6.0%
- Average consumption
- 596 kWh
- Spread across networks
- $222–$282
$232 → $246 a month
a month, standard user · 377 kWh low user
5 network regions, dearest to cheapest
Published, per network
The 5 networks behind that average
These are the Electricity Authority's figures, unaltered, for each network reporting region in Canterbury. The headline above is their unweighted mean.
| Network region | Daily | Per kWh | Monthly | Low user |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton (Electricity Ashburton)EA Networks | $1.85 | 29.35c | $222.18 | $162.84 |
| Central Canterbury (Orion New Zealand)Orion | $1.96 | 26.69c | $225.36 | $158.77 |
| North Canterbury (MainPower NZ)MainPower | $3.87 | 26.92c | $282.42 | $183.01 |
| South Canterbury (Alpine Energy)Alpine Energy | $3.68 | 26.66c | $259.57 | $170.27 |
| Waitaki (Network Waitaki)Network Waitaki | $4.12 | 23.93c | $241.86 | $163.07 |
The Electricity Authority splits New Zealand into network reporting regions and publishes a figure for each. A user-facing region like Canterbury is not one of them, which is why the headline above is a mean of these rows rather than a number the EA published. The lines company for each is the one you call in an outage — not your power company.
Town by town
Towns we track in Canterbury
MBIE surveys 5 towns in Canterbury and publishes a price per kWh for each. That is a different survey from the figures above — one prices advertised tariffs for a model household, the other measures what regions actually pay — so they answer different questions.
Compare 8 power companies in Canterbury
The $3.10 daily charge and the network's share of the unit rate come with your address and no company can discount them. What sits on top is set by your power company — answer a few questions and we will show you what the companies we work with offer.
Compare power companiesPower prices in Canterbury — common questions
What is the average power bill in Canterbury?
$246 a month for a standard user and $168 for a low user, on Electricity Authority figures for March 2026, GST inclusive. Those cover an average of 596 kWh a month for a standard user and 377 kWh for a low user. Your own bill scales with your own usage, so treat these as where the region sits rather than as a quote.
Have power prices in Canterbury gone up?
The average standard-user bill has gone up 6.0% since January 2025, from $232 to $246 a month. That is the Electricity Authority's own series, which starts in January 2025 and is updated monthly.
Why does Canterbury cost $246 a month?
Because of the daily charge and the unit rate together. In Canterbury the average fixed charge is $3.10 a day for a standard user and the average unit rate is 26.71c per kWh. A low-user plan trades a smaller daily charge — $1.57 a day — for a higher unit rate of 32.86c, which is why which one suits you depends entirely on how much you use.
Is power more expensive in Canterbury than elsewhere in New Zealand?
Canterbury ranks 9th of 14 regions we publish, by average standard-user monthly bill. The dearest is Marlborough at $280 and the cheapest is Tasman at $228. Most of the difference between regions is lines charges, which are set by the network serving the address and are the same whichever power company bills you.
Why does Canterbury have more than one set of prices?
Because Canterbury is covered by 5 Electricity Authority network reporting regions (Ashburton (Electricity Ashburton), Central Canterbury (Orion New Zealand), North Canterbury (MainPower NZ), South Canterbury (Alpine Energy), Waitaki (Network Waitaki)), and each has its own lines charges. The headline figures on this page are an unweighted average of those 5, which is our derivation rather than a published regional average, and the EA's per-network figures are shown beside it so you can see the spread.
Canterbury is 9th of 14 regions by average monthly bill — Marlborough is dearest at $280 and Tasman cheapest at $228. See every region and town.