Understanding Your Power Bill

Imagine going to a supermarket where there are no prices on anything. You have a vague understanding that the more items you put in your trolley, the more you’ll have to pay at the checkout, but there’s no specific information about what each individual item actually costs. When you go to pay for your goods, the cashier presents with you an invoice that simply says “Groceries” along with the amount payable, leaving you with no insight into where your hard-earned money is actually going.

You probably wouldn’t shop at this supermarket, yet most power companies continue to operate along similar lines, bundling all their charges together into a single amount so you can never really be sure of what you’re actually paying for.

How we do it at Pulse Energy

Here at Pulse Energy, we do things a little differently. We think it’s important that our customers know exactly what they’re paying for, which is why we provide transparent billing by itemising all our charges.

You’re probably aware that Energy Rates have an impact on how much you pay for power, but you might be surprised to learn that Energy Rates usually only make up a small portion of your bill. From Network Services charges to Electricity Authority Levies and everything in between, we put it all out in the open on your power bill so you can see exactly what your money is paying for.

Page 1 of your power bill: the essentials

The first page of your power bill is fairly straightforward. Here, we provide you with all the essential billing information you need, including the total amount due, your energy usage history and your account information. You’ll also find the contact details of our customer support team should you need to get in touch with us.

Page 2 of your power bill: beyond Energy Rates

The second page of your power bill is where things start to get a little more interesting. Here, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of all the charges, so you can see exactly where your money is going. This includes

Energy Rates

This is what we charge you for your electricity. Energy Rates can be separated into two different rates

• Uncontrolled: The rate per unit you pay for electricity.
• Controlled: There are certain appliances in your home such as your hot water cylinder, which your power company can switch off for short periods of time when there are emergencies or unusually high demand on the network. The controlled rate is how much you pay per unit for the supply of electricity to these controlled appliance.

Network Service Charges

These costs go toward paying network companies, who are the ones responsible for maintaining power poles, power lines and transformers, and ensuring your electricity gets to your home. Network services charges include fixed daily charges and variable service charges, which are based on how much energy you used during the billing period. Fixed charges apply even if you don’t use any electricity

For more information about what’s involved with the energy distribution process, check out our previous blog post on where electricity comes from and how it gets to your home.

Electricity Authority Levy

Your bill will also include an Electricity Authority Levy, which goes toward funding the Electricity Authority, an independent entity that is tasked with regulating New Zealand’s electricity market. The levy is usually based on how much power you used during the billing period.

Metering

As you may know, electricity meters are used to measure and record how much electricity your household uses. Metering charges cover the costs involved with reading and maintaining your electricity meter.

Retailer Services

These are the costs involved with running a retail electricity company, including providing customer support, maintaining billing systems and a range of other administrative tasks. These are variable costs and are based on your energy usage.

Low cost electricity meets transparent pricing

We believe that all electricity customers have the right to know what they’re paying for when they receive their power bill. By clearly itemising our charges, we’re able to show exactly where your money is going and provide our customers with a greater level of transparency. Please see this handy PDF for more information about reading your Pulse Energy power bill.

Ready to make the switch to a power company with nothing to hide? With competitive prices and a customer service team that’s second to none, Pulse Energy is your number one choice when it comes to low cost electricity in New Zealand. Give us a call today on 0800 785 733 to learn more.