Annual price changes from TLC
26 February 2025
The Lines Company (TLC) is committed to ensuring a reliable and resilient electricity network for our customers. As part of this commitment, we are undertaking significant renewals and upgrades to our infrastructure, much of which was built last century. These efforts are essential to keep our customers connected and to meet the growing demands of modern energy consumption.
“At The Lines Company (TLC), we understand that price increases are concerning for customers, especially when other day-to-day costs are also on the increase,” said Mike Fox, TLC’s Chief Executive. “TLC charges cover the cost of transporting electricity from the national grid to customers’ homes and businesses and only make up around a third of overall power bills.”
Due to economic factors such as increasing inflation, high interest rates and rising infrastructure costs the Commerce Commission has on average allowed electricity distributors a 24% increase from 1 April 2026. TLC’s increase could have been over 30%.
“We know many of our customers are already struggling to keep up with increased living costs and delivering a 30% increase was not right,” said Fox. “TLC is 100% community-owned by Waitomo Energy Customer Services Trust (WESCT) and this has provided our team the opportunity to reduce the impact of price rises by smoothing them over several years.
“Most of our customers are households and the average increase in TLC costs for most people in the coming year will be just 10%, with business customers seeing an average 15% increase.”
The actual increase customers experience depends on which retail plan people are on and how they use electricity. Retailers bundle distribution costs differently, leading to some variations. TLC has reduced its off-peak pricing tariff to retailers, so maximising off-peak usage could mean savings for customers.
WESCT beneficiaries in the northern part of TLC’s network will also see an increase in the TLC discount or return in the coming year. This will rise by $800,000 from $5.2 million to $6 million. $500,000 of this increase comes directly from the 2023 sale of TLC’s subsidiary company, Influx.
“The increase in the TLC discount will help WESCT beneficiaries with their power bills as it is credited to their electricity bills. The next TLC discount will be paid in May as we head into winter,” says Fox.
“We encourage customers to check their retail and price plans through apps such as Powerswitch or SwitchMe,” said Fox. “Customers on our network have low switch rates and many may find cheaper plan options if they shopped around retailers.
Understanding the comparisons, however, can be complex. Customers should reach out to TLC’s customer and community and engagement team who can help people see if there is a better plan them.”
Supporting customers experiencing energy hardship is a key focus area for TLC. We have committed to spend at least $100,000 to support customers with energy efficiency education and access to Consumer New Zealand’s Utua Atu programme.
Price changes will come into effect from April 1 this year. During April and May, TLC’s customer team will be on the road across the network, showing people how to save on energy costs.
ENDS | WORDS 517