Wholesale Electricity
A share market for power.
The price moves. You decide.
The wholesale spot market is where New Zealand's electricity retailers buy their power. It sets a new price every half hour (What the wholesale price is: The wholesale (spot) price is the price power companies pay for power, set every half hour. A unit is 1 kWh, what your meter counts.), and we pass that price straight on to you: you pay it for the power you use, and earn it for the power you export. On top sit network losses, lines and transmission charges, metering, levies, our fee and GST.
- You're in control: see the price in our app and choose when to use power, store it or export it.
- No fixed term, no exit fee. A refundable bond usually applies.
- Prices can spike. Keep an eye on them, and switch out if spot stops suiting you.
A real day.
a low-priced pick from 21-30 Sep (Why this day: We pick one day from the last 10 days of the prices on this page (21 to 30 September 2026), at Otahuhu, Whakatu or Islington: the one with the longest run of half-hours under 1c. It's a real day, but a low-priced one, not a typical one. A new day is picked when a new month of prices comes in. Shown: Whakatu (Hawke's Bay), Tuesday 22 September 2026, final prices. EMI wholesale prices, the same data as our spot prices page.)The wholesale price, every half hour
under 1c1c to 10c10c and over
0.003c
Lowest, at 4amBest if you buy
5.9c
Day's average
18.8c
Highest, at 4:30pmBest if you export
Every day is different: at Whakatu, January 2026 averaged 0.4c and August 2024 averaged 42.1c.
Actual wholesale prices, before GST. Spot price only, not your whole bill.
How the spot market works.
Generators offer power and retailers buy it. Every half hour the market sets a new price from supply and demand. Like a share price, it moves all day.
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1 Generators offer power
Hydro, wind, solar, gas and more offer what they can make.
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2 The market sets a price
A new wholesale price every half hour. It can differ by place.
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3 You decide
See the price in our app. Use power, store it or export it when it suits you.
What pushes the price up
- Dry spells, with the hydro lakes running low
- Cold, still evenings, when everyone needs power at once
- Gas supply running short
What pushes it down
- Windy nights
- Sunny middays
- Wet weather that fills the hydro lakes
What was behind high wholesale prices in 2024 (Electricity Authority) Live prices, town by town
Same price. Opposite wishes.
If you use power, you want it low.
A low price is good news. A high one costs you more.
If you export power, you want it high.
A high price is good news. Each unit you export earns that half hour's wholesale price.
Got solar or a battery? You can be on both sides, depending on the half hour. You choose.
See the price coming.
The price moves with the weather, so a clock can't predict it. The app shows what's coming: the price now, the forecast for the next 36 hours, and the lowest-priced stretch in the next 12 hours flagged. A forecast is a guide and can change.A clock can't predict the price. The app shows the price now, the next 36 hours' forecast, and the lowest-priced stretch in the next 12 hours. A forecast is a guide and can change.
- Price now
- Lowest-priced stretch coming upThe forecast is the wholesale price. Your network's hours sit on top, so your lowest-priced time depends on both.
- What you used and sold
Got an EV? Plug in when you get home and charge in the lowest-priced stretch the app shows.
Screenshot, July 2026. Customers get the app when they join.
The live price and alerts are a guide and can be delayed. You're billed the settled half-hour price. (Live price vs the price you're billed: The live price in the app is the 5-minute dispatch price. It's a guide and can be delayed. You're billed the settled half-hour final price, which the market publishes after the day; WITS (electricityinfo.co.nz) is the authoritative source. If a final price isn't ready when we bill, we use the interim price and correct it on a later bill. That's the exception, not the rule.)
Our two plans.
All prices on this page are before GST. GST (15%) is added to your bill.
Standard User
Usually homes using over about 600 units a month
Our fee
2c a unit and 50c a day, + GST (Standard User, including GST (15%): Our fee 2.3c a unit and 57.5c a day. On both plans: metering 49.45c a day and levies 0.288c a unit; on Vector networks, transmission 3.91c a unit. Your network's records set which plan you start on, and we can ask your network to change it. Rates from 1 September 2026; existing customers get 30 days' notice of any change. Full rates table: /legal/rates/.)
Low User
Ends 1 April 2027Usually homes using under about 600 units a month
Our fee
4c a unit, no daily service fee, + GST (Low User, including GST (15%), and when it ends: Our fee 4.6c a unit; no daily service fee. On both plans: metering 49.45c a day and levies 0.288c a unit; on Vector networks, transmission 3.91c a unit. Low User ends on 1 April 2027 as the government phases out low fixed charges. Low User homes then move to Standard User, and we'll give you 30 days' notice first. Your network's records set which plan you start on, and we can ask your network to change it. Rates from 1 September 2026; existing customers get 30 days' notice of any change. Full rates table: /legal/rates/.)
On both plans: metering 43c a day and levies 0.25c a unit, + GST. Plus the market price, network losses and your network's lines charges, at cost.
Note on Vector networks: transmission is a flat 3.4c a unit + GST (Transmission on Vector networks: On Vector networks we charge transmission (the national grid charge) as a flat 3.4c a unit + GST instead of passing it through at cost. Vector leaves it out of its lines charges; the other networks we trade on build it into theirs. Vector bills us for the national grid separately, so we charge one flat rate, set to cover most of the range Vector charges across its grid exit points (the substations where the national grid feeds its lines), so it is more than our average cost. We review it every three months against what Vector actually charges us. If we collect more than it cost us, that comes back through the next rate. The working is in the full rates table.)
Your network's records set which plan you start on. No fixed term, no exit fee. A refundable bond usually applies.
These prices are for homes and small businesses. Larger commercial and industrial sites get their own quote. (Which sites these prices cover: What decides it is the lines tariff your network puts your site on. If it's a larger commercial or industrial tariff, we quote your site instead of using these plans.) Ask about your site →
Different networks have different prices.
About 29 lines companies each set their own prices and hours, some by season or day of the week. It's the one part of your bill we can't print here.
One price all day
Dearer at peak
0c off-peak
LowestMiddleHighest0c
On some networks' time-of-use plans, the lines charge is 0c in off-peak hours. Most don't, and the rest of your bill still applies. Get in touch to find out your lines charges →
What's at your place?
You don't need solar. Spot suits homes that can choose when they use or export power.
LowerIn betweenHigher
Average day over the past 12 months. Spot price only, not your whole bill. (How these numbers are worked out: Every half-hour from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 (365 days) at 16 grid exit points: Benmore, Blenheim, Bunnythorpe, Dobson, Haywards, Halfway Bush, Invercargill, Islington, Maungatapere, Otahuhu, Stratford, Stoke, Tauranga, Tuai, Whakamaru and Whakatu. EMI final prices. Averages are the mean of the 16 places. Green is a half-hour that was under 1c on 40% of days or more, amber 30-40%, orange under 30%. Wholesale only: your network's hours, network losses, lines charges, metering, levies, our fee and GST sit on top. Not every month is like this: March 2026 averaged 15c across the 16 places. Rebuilt every night from the same EMI data as our spot prices page.)
Spot with an EV
Most cars sit plugged in for hours and need only a few of them. Charge in the lowest-priced stretch and skip the evening rush. The lowest-priced hours move with the weather, so let the forecast pick: the app flags the lowest-priced stretch, and a charger or Home Assistant can follow the price for you.
One thing to check: can your car or charger start itself on a timer or a signal? And ask whether your network has a time-of-use lines plan.
3.6c vs 8.3c
the average wholesale price at 4am vs 6:30pm (past 12 months, 16 places).
Spot with a home battery
Fill it when the price is low, from the grid or the panels. Run the house through the evening rush, and export what's left at that half hour's wholesale price, uncapped.
On an ordinary winter evening a fixed peak buy-back from another retailer can pay more. Spot pays the spikes, and the dips.
0.003c to 18.8c
the lowest and highest half-hour on the day shown at the top of this page (Whakatu (Hawke's Bay), wholesale).
Spot in an everyday home
One timer on the hot-water cylinder moves its heating out of the evening rush and into the small hours. Heating at dinnertime is the hard one to move, so check the fit first.
One thing to do first: take the four-tap fit check below.
5.4c vs 8.4c
the average wholesale price on weekdays: outside 7-9am and 5-10pm vs 5-10pm (past 12 months, 16 places).
Spot with solar
Use your own power first, and run the big stuff while the panels are going. Add a battery and you can keep that midday power for the evening: fill it from the panels to get through the evening rush, then top it up from the grid overnight, when the price is usually lower, to get through the morning peak. Whatever you export earns that half hour's wholesale price, uncapped, low or high.
One thing to do: run the washing and dishwasher in the middle of the day.
4.4c vs 8.3c
the average wholesale price at 2pm vs 6:30pm (past 12 months, 16 places). A unit a battery holds until the evening can be worth more than one exported at midday.
Larger business sites get their own quote
Small businesses go on the same plans as homes. If your network puts your site on a larger commercial or industrial lines tariff, we quote your site instead of using these plans.
To get a quote, tell us about your site through the contact form: the address and what's there.
Prices can spike. Here's what that looks like.
Wet months can be cheap. Dry spells can be expensive. If you can't move your usage when prices climb, you pay more. If you export power, a climb pays you more.
Spot prices change every half hour and can spike. Read the Electricity Authority's page on spot price contracts and the risks they carry.
Whakatu (Hawke's Bay) · wholesale
Past 12 months
5.7c
Five-year average
12.7c
Worst month in five years (Aug 2024)
42.1c
wholesale price, c a unit: the market part of your bill only. Your bill adds network losses, lines charges, metering, levies and our fee.
The most expensive half-hour in five years at Whakatu: about 460c a unit wholesale, in May 2024.
Whakatu (Hawke's Bay) · monthly averages · Oct 2021-Sep 2026 · wholesale · market only (About this chart: Whakatu (Hawke's Bay) monthly average wholesale prices, October 2021 to September 2026, EMI final prices, rebuilt each night with the rest of the page. The dashed line is the five-year average, 12.7c. 'A dry winter' and 'a dry autumn' are from the Electricity Authority's reviews of those periods: what was behind high wholesale prices (winter 2024) and hydro storage limits and why rain matters (autumn 2025).)
You can leave.
No fixed term, no exit fee. A refundable bond usually applies. A switch happens on a set date, and other retailers set their own prices, so decide before a dry spell, not in the middle of one.
Why do prices spike?
Hydro lakes running down in a dry spell, gas supply running short, and cold, still evenings when everyone needs power at once.
August 2024: the Electricity Authority's review of that winter.
How well does spot fit your home?
Four taps. See what suits you, and what to watch.
If wholesale electricity works for you, join. If it doesn't, leave.
No fixed term, no exit fee. A refundable bond usually applies.
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1 Tell us your address
You need a smart meter that records every half hour. We'll check yours.
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2 We check your network's lines charges
We can tell you what they are, if you'd like.
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3 We handle the switch
You're with us from your switch date. We'll confirm it once it's set. (Your switch date: Your switch has a date, not a time. You're with us from the start of that day, and with your old retailer up to the day before. When you join you choose 'as soon as possible' or a date you pick. We lodge the switch with the national electricity registry and confirm the date once it's set. Your current retailer has a say in it, so it can move, and we'll tell you if it does. You don't need to contact them.)
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4 Watch prices in the app
Who you're dealing with
Ecosmart New Zealand Limited. A member of Utilities Disputes – Tautohetohe Whaipainga: free, independent help if we can't resolve a complaint. 0800 22 33 40. Comparing plans? Check at billy.govt.nz – a free, independent comparison site.
If a retailer can't keep trading, the Electricity Authority's default process moves its customers to other retailers without cutting off their power (If a retailer stops trading: Every retailer's terms must allow this (Electricity Industry Participation Code clause 11.15B; ours is clause 9.12). The new retailer can put you on its standard terms. Money held by the retailer that stopped trading, such as a bond or a credit balance, isn't moved with you; it's a claim against that company. Example: on 2 May 2025 the Authority announced that Prime Energy had defaulted. Some of its 325 customers (mostly businesses) chose a new retailer, the Authority placed the rest on 12 May, and no one was disconnected. ea.govt.nz: Prime Energy customers transferred to new retailers.). Customers can choose their own new retailer; the Authority places anyone who doesn't.
Straight answers.
Tap a question.
The market
What is the spot price?
The price power companies pay for power, set every half hour. On our plan you pay it for the energy part of your bill, plus network losses, your lines charges, metering, levies and our fee.
Why does the price change every half hour?
Supply and demand move all day. Cold still evenings and low hydro lakes push it up. Windy, wet nights push it down.
How low, and how high, can the price go?
Low: to zero, and rarely slightly below. The lowest half-hour in the past 12 months across the 16 places we track was -0.014c a unit. Over the past 12 months, about 18% of half-hours were under 0.1c across the 16 places we track (wholesale). High: we don't cap it, and it can spike with little or no warning. The most expensive half-hour in five years at Whakatu was about 460c a unit wholesale, in May 2024. Network losses, your lines charges, metering, levies and our fee apply either way.
Does everyone want a low price?
No. If you use power, a low price is good news and a high one costs you more. If you export power, from solar or a battery, it's the other way round: each unit you export earns that half hour's wholesale price, so a high price pays you more and a low one pays you less. Same price, opposite wishes. With solar and a battery you can be on both sides, depending on the half hour.
Your bill
What will my network charge?
It depends on your lines company. NZ has about 29, and each sets its own prices and hours. Some networks' time-of-use plans charge 0c for lines in off-peak hours. Most don't, and even then the market price, network losses, the daily lines charge, metering, levies and our fee still apply. We pass your network's lines charges through at cost; on Vector networks we also charge transmission as a flat 3.4c a unit + GST. Your lines company publishes its prices on its website.
What's on my bill?
Five parts: the market price each half hour (plus network losses), your network's lines charges (on Vector networks, plus our flat 3.4c transmission), flat metering, flat levies and our fee. Each one is printed on the bill, and GST (15%) is added.
Why are prices on this page before GST?
So every number here is on one footing: the market publishes its prices before GST, and we show ours the same way. GST (15%) is added to your bill, and the full rates table shows every charge with and without GST.
When does my switch happen?
On your switch date. You're with us from the start of that day, and your old retailer bills you up to the day before. You choose as soon as possible or a date you pick, and we confirm the date once it's set. Your current retailer has a say in it, so it can move; we'll tell you if it does.
Which plan am I on?
Your network's records set it: usually Low User under about 600 units a month, Standard User over. We can ask your network to change it. Low User ends 1 April 2027, when Low User homes move to Standard User (with 30 days' notice).
What is the bond?
A refundable security bond, held in case a bill goes unpaid. A bond usually applies when you join. It's sized to one billing period of your own bill, so it's bigger for bigger users. You get it back after no more than 12 months of on-time payments, or when you close your account.
Your gear
Do I need solar?
No. An EV on a timer, a home battery, or a timer on the hot-water cylinder is enough, as long as the big stuff can wait for the lowest-priced hours.
How are my exports paid?
Each unit you export earns that half hour's wholesale price, with no cap. Sunny middays are often under 1c and evenings are often higher, so a unit a battery exports in the evening can earn more than one exported at midday. On an ordinary winter evening a fixed peak buy-back from another retailer can pay more. Spot pays the spikes, and the dips. If the price ever goes below zero, as it rarely does, an exported unit is charged that fraction of a cent.
My retailer already has an EV night rate. Why switch?
A night rate fixes one window. On spot every half hour has its own price, so any low-priced stretch counts, and exports earn the wholesale price. It cuts both ways: prices can spike.
Not sure? Ask us straight.
We'll tell you plainly who spot doesn't suit. Whether it suits you is your call.
Larger business site? Tell us about it and we'll quote your site.
A real person replies, usually within one business day.
We use your details to answer your enquiry, as our privacy policy explains.
Prices can spike. Keep an eye on them, and check the fit before you switch.