Spot electricity price in the South Island right now
The latest wholesale price at Benmore, the South Island reference point, and how it compares. All prices on this page are before GST. GST (15%) is added to your bill.
Wholesale price · Benmore (South Island reference)
live price past-year average, 5.1c
The latest 5-minute wholesale price at Benmore substation, the South Island reference point, a guide only. It can spike with little or no warning. Your bill uses the final half-hour price at your own grid point. Your bill adds network losses (which move with the wholesale price), your lines charges (on Vector networks, plus a flat transmission charge), metering, levies, our fee and GST.
Right now Last price Wholesale price (NZ time) Delayed · last price Live feed down since Live price unavailable Live price unavailable. The averages on this page are unaffected.Averages at Benmore · before GST
- Past year Oct 2025–Sep 2026
- 5.1c
- 5 years Oct 2021–Sep 2026
- 12.3c
- Worst 12 months Sep 2023–Aug 2024
- 22.1c
2nd cheapest of the 16 regions over the past year, −11% against the national average.
And in a dry year it looks like this. Over Sep 2023–Aug 2024, the worst 12 months in the data, Benmore averaged 22.1 c/kWh — about 4.4× the past year. The most expensive month (Aug 2024) averaged 47.6 c, and one half-hour reached 423 c. New Zealand runs on hydro, so a dry winter is not a freak event — it is the risk a spot price passes to you.
Benmore substation in the Waitaki valley, the South Island reference point. Averages use final prices to 30 September 2026. Live prices are 5-minute dispatch prices. Page updated 30 October 2026. Source: EMI FinalEnergyPrices. These are island reference figures — a specific connection can differ, so enter your ICP for your own grid point.
When is power cheap in South Island?
The evening peak costs about 1.3× the overnight price
Each row is a month, each column a half hour of the day. The left map is the past year alone (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), the right one averages each calendar month over 60 months (Oct 2021 to Sep 2026) — because the pattern of the day barely changes between one year and 5 even though the level does. Both run in window order, October at the top, so the two read row against row. Green is cheap, yellow is ordinary, amber and red are expensive.
Past year
Oct 2025–Sep 2026 · averaged 5.1 c
Past 5 years
Oct 2021 to Sep 2026 · averaged 12.3 c
Same place, same hours, two different windows. The pattern of the day hardly changes — cheap overnight, expensive at peak, every month. What changed is the level: the past year has run at about 41% of the 5-year average, which is why the left-hand map is greener.
| Time of day | Average | vs all-day | Share of day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight 11pm-7am | 4.4 c | −13% | 33% |
| Daytime 9am-5pm | 4.5 c | −11% | 33% |
| Late evening 9pm-11pm | 5.8 c | +16% | 8% |
| Morning peak 7am-9am | 6.2 c | +22% | 8% |
| Evening peak 5pm-9pm | 6.5 c | +29% | 17% |
| Overnight 11pm-7am | 11.0 c | −10% | 33% |
| Daytime 9am-5pm | 12.1 c | −2% | 33% |
| Late evening 9pm-11pm | 13.1 c | +7% | 8% |
| Morning peak 7am-9am | 14.0 c | +14% | 8% |
| Evening peak 5pm-9pm | 14.0 c | +14% | 17% |
How often is it expensive?
Most half-hours are cheap. A few are not, and that is the trade.
Every half hour of Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 at South Island, 17,520 of them, sorted by price.
Median half-hour
2.6 c
Half the time it was below this
Under 1c
38.3%
Share of half-hours under 1 c/kWh
Most expensive 5%
16.2 c
One half-hour in twenty was above this
Above 50c
0.07%
Share of half-hours over 50 c/kWh
| Wholesale price | Share of the time below | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 c/kWh | 79.62% | |
| Under 15 c/kWh | 93.73% | |
| Under 20 c/kWh | 98.88% | |
| Under 25 c/kWh | 99.82% | |
| Under 30 c/kWh | 99.85% | |
| Under 50 c/kWh | 99.93% |
Every half hour of Oct 2021 to Sep 2026 at South Island, 87,648 of them, sorted by price.
Median half-hour
10.3 c
Half the time it was below this
Under 1c
20.4%
Share of half-hours under 1 c/kWh
Most expensive 5%
31.8 c
One half-hour in twenty was above this
Above 50c
1.01%
Share of half-hours over 50 c/kWh
| Wholesale price | Share of the time below | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 c/kWh | 49.12% | |
| Under 15 c/kWh | 64.96% | |
| Under 20 c/kWh | 79.25% | |
| Under 25 c/kWh | 88.08% | |
| Under 30 c/kWh | 93.86% | |
| Under 50 c/kWh | 98.99% |
Every figure here is counted over the actual half-hours: the median and most expensive 5% are real prices that occurred.
The last 5 years
Spot prices move — with the weather, the lakes and the wind
Monthly averages at South Island against the national reference. Individual half-hours swing far wider than this — see the spread above, and the full figures below.
Show the monthly figures
| Month | Average | Cheapest | Most expensive | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 2.3 c | 0.0 c | 21.6 c | 3.3 c |
| Aug 2026 | 6.2 c | 0.0 c | 335.1 c | 7.3 c |
| Jul 2026 | 4.4 c | 0.0 c | 70.2 c | 5.4 c |
| Jun 2026 | 3.5 c | 0.0 c | 34.9 c | 3.8 c |
| May 2026 | 7.4 c | 0.0 c | 47.6 c | 7.8 c |
| Apr 2026 | 9.9 c | 0.0 c | 38.5 c | 10.2 c |
| Mar 2026 | 14.2 c | 0.0 c | 28.0 c | 15.0 c |
| Feb 2026 | 3.7 c | 0.0 c | 15.0 c | 4.5 c |
| Jan 2026 | 0.2 c | 0.0 c | 7.3 c | 0.3 c |
| Dec 2025 | 0.5 c | 0.0 c | 22.0 c | 1.1 c |
| Nov 2025 | 5.4 c | 0.0 c | 24.8 c | 6.1 c |
| Oct 2025 | 2.7 c | 0.0 c | 97.5 c | 3.0 c |
| Sep 2025 | 11.2 c | 0.0 c | 33.2 c | 11.5 c |
| Aug 2025 | 17.2 c | 0.1 c | 33.3 c | 17.7 c |
| Jul 2025 | 10.0 c | 0.0 c | 184.1 c | 10.4 c |
| Jun 2025 | 12.1 c | 0.0 c | 34.6 c | 12.4 c |
| May 2025 | 20.0 c | 0.0 c | 44.1 c | 20.6 c |
| Apr 2025 | 32.5 c | 5.5 c | 44.0 c | 32.9 c |
| Mar 2025 | 29.0 c | 0.0 c | 41.8 c | 29.5 c |
| Feb 2025 | 24.0 c | 0.0 c | 39.3 c | 26.3 c |
| Jan 2025 | 10.8 c | 0.0 c | 32.7 c | 11.6 c |
| Dec 2024 | 2.0 c | 0.0 c | 17.3 c | 2.8 c |
| Nov 2024 | 2.4 c | 0.0 c | 27.3 c | 2.9 c |
| Oct 2024 | 5.1 c | 0.0 c | 19.4 c | 5.5 c |
| Sep 2024 | 7.0 c | 0.0 c | 374.1 c | 7.5 c |
| Aug 2024 | 47.6 c | 0.0 c | 147.5 c | 47.2 c |
| Jul 2024 | 37.0 c | 0.1 c | 190.4 c | 37.1 c |
| Jun 2024 | 26.0 c | 0.1 c | 38.7 c | 26.6 c |
| May 2024 | 28.3 c | 0.0 c | 423.2 c | 30.5 c |
| Apr 2024 | 21.0 c | 0.0 c | 48.4 c | 22.3 c |
| Mar 2024 | 22.0 c | 0.0 c | 53.7 c | 22.2 c |
| Feb 2024 | 13.2 c | 0.0 c | 59.2 c | 14.9 c |
| Jan 2024 | 18.1 c | 0.0 c | 65.6 c | 19.2 c |
| Dec 2023 | 16.7 c | 0.0 c | 50.2 c | 17.6 c |
| Nov 2023 | 12.7 c | 0.0 c | 53.6 c | 14.0 c |
| Oct 2023 | 10.7 c | 0.0 c | 25.6 c | 11.9 c |
| Sep 2023 | 10.9 c | 0.0 c | 25.9 c | 11.9 c |
| Aug 2023 | 13.1 c | 0.0 c | 66.3 c | 14.0 c |
| Jul 2023 | 10.7 c | 0.0 c | 45.7 c | 11.4 c |
| Jun 2023 | 7.0 c | 0.0 c | 354.3 c | 8.3 c |
| May 2023 | 5.5 c | 0.0 c | 277.2 c | 6.3 c |
| Apr 2023 | 7.6 c | 0.0 c | 40.7 c | 8.8 c |
| Mar 2023 | 13.1 c | 0.0 c | 45.5 c | 14.6 c |
| Feb 2023 | 14.0 c | 0.0 c | 31.5 c | 14.9 c |
| Jan 2023 | 11.0 c | 0.0 c | 39.6 c | 11.5 c |
| Dec 2022 | 1.3 c | 0.0 c | 34.2 c | 1.6 c |
| Nov 2022 | 3.0 c | 0.0 c | 34.9 c | 3.7 c |
| Oct 2022 | 6.7 c | 0.0 c | 150.7 c | 7.3 c |
| Sep 2022 | 5.0 c | 0.0 c | 154.9 c | 5.4 c |
| Aug 2022 | 4.0 c | 0.0 c | 44.1 c | 4.4 c |
| Jul 2022 | 9.8 c | 0.0 c | 147.6 c | 10.2 c |
| Jun 2022 | 15.4 c | 0.0 c | 241.3 c | 16.4 c |
| May 2022 | 20.5 c | 0.0 c | 70.9 c | 21.7 c |
| Apr 2022 | 19.6 c | 4.5 c | 51.8 c | 20.3 c |
| Mar 2022 | 18.8 c | 1.2 c | 56.9 c | 20.0 c |
| Feb 2022 | 11.0 c | 0.0 c | 49.8 c | 13.8 c |
| Jan 2022 | 14.6 c | 0.0 c | 46.6 c | 15.7 c |
| Dec 2021 | 5.0 c | 0.0 c | 35.0 c | 5.6 c |
| Nov 2021 | 7.6 c | 0.0 c | 21.2 c | 8.3 c |
| Oct 2021 | 5.6 c | 0.0 c | 46.0 c | 6.4 c |
When does spot suit you?
Spot is not always the cheapest. It is the one you can leave.
Low prices favour you
When the lakes are full and the wind is blowing, wholesale power is cheap, and on spot the energy part of your bill follows it. Benmore averaged 5.1 c/kWh before GST over Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Your own price per unit will differ.
High prices favour generators
A dry winter reverses it. Over Sep 2023–Aug 2024 Benmore averaged 22.1c, 4.4× the past year. Same market, working the other way.
So we do not lock you in
No fixed term. If spot stops suiting you, switch to a fixed plan or another retailer — and switch back when it turns again. The point is the choice, not a promise about next winter.
Would it suit you right now?
These are wholesale energy prices, before GST. On your bill, the wholesale price is the part the market sets every half hour. Network losses (power lost in the lines on its way to you) are charged at that same price, so they move with it. Your lines company's charges (which can differ by time of day), a flat transmission charge on Vector networks, flat metering, flat levies and our fee don't follow the market. They are published rates that can change: lines companies usually reprice once a year, and we review ours from time to time. GST (15%) is added to all of it.
Spot works best if you can shift some usage, or if you have solar or a battery. It works badly if your usage is inflexible and an expensive winter month would hurt. We will not tell you it is always cheapest, because it is not — we will show you the price and let you decide when to be on it.
Spot prices elsewhere in New Zealand
Live wholesale electricity prices across New Zealand, all 16 regions on one map.