Live wholesale electricity prices across New Zealand

Averages by region

16 regions, ranked on the past-year average

Two windows, because one would mislead you. The past year (Oct 2025–Sep 2026) averaged 5.7 c/kWh across the regions, 43% of the 5-year average (13.1 c). The worst 12 months is below, because a 5-year average thins it out.

The last three columns follow the button above the table. "Cheapest" and "most expensive part of the day" are the average across those stretches — not the lowest and highest prices reached. The peak ratio is how much more expensive the expensive stretch is than the cheap one: the higher it is, the more there is to gain from shifting usage.

Individual half-hours go far wider than any average. Over Oct 2021–Sep 2026 single half-hours ranged from 0.0 to 594 c/kWh. That spread is the whole point of a spot plan — it is where the gain is if you can shift usage, and the risk if you cannot.

A dry year is what the risk looks like. Over Sep 2023–Aug 2024, the worst 12 months in this data, wholesale power averaged 23.0 c/kWh across the regions — about 4.1× the past year. Aug 2024 alone averaged 47.2 c. New Zealand runs on hydro, so a dry winter is not a freak event. Every region page shows its own.

Each region is shown at one grid exit point, named on its own page. Island and national figures are the mean across these 16 reference points — one per region — rather than an average over every grid node, most of which are small industrial connections. Averages use the Electricity Authority's final half-hour prices to 30 September 2026. Live prices are 5-minute dispatch prices, a guide only: bills use final prices. Page updated 12 October 2026. Source: EMI FinalEnergyPrices.