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Help me understand my bill

Richard avatar
Written by Richard
Updated this week

We get it — power bills can be confusing. So, let’s keep it simple.

When you get your bill from Frank Energy, there are a few different parts that make up your total cost. Here’s what each piece means (no fine print, just facts).


⚡ Energy (Generation) – around 32%

This is the cost of buying electricity from the wholesale market — basically, what generators charge for producing the power you use. Prices can change depending on supply and demand across the country.


🔌 Network (Transmission & Distribution) – around 37.5%

These are the costs of building, running, and maintaining the power lines that get electricity from the generator to your home.

  • Transmission: the big national grid, owned by Transpower.

  • Distribution: your local lines company, which looks after the poles, wires, and transformers in your area.

Frank doesn’t set these prices — we just pass them on, exactly as they come from Transpower and your regional lines company.


🧾 Retail (Frank Energy) – around 13%

This is what we charge for doing all the admin that keeps the power flowing — things like billing, customer service, and keeping our digital tools humming.


💸 GST – around 13%

That’s the 15% Goods and Services Tax (GST). When you add it across your whole bill, it works out to roughly 13% of the total.


⚙️ Metering & Other Costs – around 4.5%

This covers the cost of reading, maintaining, and replacing your electricity meter.
It also includes a small Electricity Authority Levy, which funds the Electricity Authority’s work to make sure the electricity market stays fair, reliable, and competitive.


👩‍🏫 A quick recap

Your total bill = Generation + Network + Retail + Metering + GST + Levy

All these parts work together to make sure your lights turn on when you flick the switch — safely, reliably, and fairly priced.


🔍 Want to dig deeper?

If you’d like to learn more about how New Zealand’s electricity market works, check out the Electricity Authority’s guide to understanding your bill.

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