Does my power get cut off when I switch company in NZ?

No. Switching is a commercial transfer only - the same wires, the same meter and the same lines company stay in place. Nothing physical is disconnected or reconnected, so there is no interruption. The one exception is if your new plan needs a different meter, such as a smart meter for a time-of-use plan, which the new retailer arranges with you in advance.

How long does it take to switch power company in NZ?

Signing up takes a few minutes online, and the switch itself averages about three to four days. The rules in Part 11 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code set the backstop: your new retailer must lodge the request within two business days, the old retailer must respond within three, and the switch date must fall within ten business days. You keep getting power throughout.

Is there a fee to switch power companies?

Switching itself is free. The charge to watch for is an early-termination fee if you leave a fixed-term contract before it ends. Some retailers charge a flat amount of around $150; others calculate it from your forecast remaining usage plus an administration fee, which on a long remaining term can come to much more. A special final meter read can also attract a small fee, and a new retailer may ask for a bond. Open-term plans have no exit fee.

Is there a cooling-off period on electricity contracts in NZ?

There is no general statutory cooling-off period for electricity contracts. The five-working-day cancellation right under the Fair Trading Act applies only to uninvited direct sales - door-to-door and telemarketing sign-ups - not to signing up online or by phoning the retailer yourself. Some retailers offer a voluntary cooling-off period as a term of their own contract, and a pending switch can be withdrawn at your request before it completes.

How often can I switch electricity retailer?

As often as you like. There is no limit in the rules, and open-term plans carry no exit fee, so if a better deal appears in six months you can move again. Many households compare every year or two, because retailers tend to let a sharp sign-up rate drift upward at each review.

How-to

How to switch power company in NZ: a step-by-step guide

Published 27 July 2026· 8 min read

Switching power company is the single easiest way to cut a New Zealand power bill, and it is routinely the most put-off. The reason people stall is a quiet worry that something will go wrong - the power will go off, there will be a gap, it will be a hassle. None of that happens. Switching retailer in NZ is free, takes a few minutes to start, and never interrupts your supply. The electricity keeps flowing the entire time.

That is because the company you buy power from is not the company that owns the wires. Your local lines company - Orion, Vector, Wellington Electricity and so on - owns the poles, cables and the meter, and it does not change when you switch. All that changes is who reads that meter and sends you the bill. Understanding that one fact removes most of the fear, so let's walk through exactly how it works.

Why it is worth doing

Retail rates vary far more than people assume. Across the country the price of a unit of power ranges from the low 30s to nearly 50 cents per kWh, and even within a single town two retailers can differ by several cents. On a typical 7,000 kWh a year, a 5c/kWh difference is around $350 a year - real money for ten minutes of effort. Powerswitch reports that most people who compare find a saving available, averaging in that same ballpark, though it is worth reading those figures as available savings rather than a promise: they assume you actually move to the cheapest suitable plan.

There is a second, quieter reason. Retailers tend to sign you up on a sharp introductory deal, then let the rate drift upward at each review while you are not watching. The plan that was competitive two years ago often is not today. From late 2026 new rules require retailers to check annually that residential customers are on the best plan the retailer offers and move them at no cost if not - but that only covers plans from your own retailer, so comparing across the market is still on you.

Before you switch: have a recent bill handy

You can compare with nothing but your address, but a recent power bill makes the result accurate. From it, note:

Your annual usage in kWh. Most bills show a 12-month total or a graph; if not, add up a year of statements. This is the number that decides which plan actually wins.
Your current rate and daily charge. The c/kWh and the fixed daily charge in dollars - so you can see whether an offer is genuinely cheaper once both lines are counted.
Your plan type. Whether you are on a low-user or standard plan, which changes the maths completely.
Your ICP number. A unique 15-digit identifier for your connection, printed on the bill. Comparison tools usually match it automatically from your address.

If any of those lines are a mystery, our guide to reading a NZ power bill explains every one of them.

The steps

1. Compare, using one of the two free tools. New Zealand now has two independent comparison sites, and they are both free:

Billy - the Electricity Authority's own comparison and switching site, launched in March 2026. Publicly owned and run by the regulator.
Powerswitch - run by Consumer NZ, the independent non-profit. It has compared plans for years and has the longer track record.

Enter your address and usage and each ranks the plans available at your connection by estimated annual cost. It is worth checking both, since they can present plans and assumptions slightly differently.

2. Read the fine print on the winner. Before you jump at the cheapest headline, check three things: whether it is a fixed term (and how any break fee is calculated), whether the low rate depends on a prompt-payment discount you will actually earn every month, and whether it is a bundle with gas or broadband you do or do not want. A "22% prompt-payment discount" is only real if you never miss a due date.

3. Sign up with the new retailer. You do this with the company you are moving to, not the one you are leaving - they handle telling your old retailer. It is an online form: your details, the ICP, and a meter reading if they ask for one. You do not need to ring anyone or cancel anything yourself.

Worth knowing: once you have initiated a switch away, your old retailer is banned from calling you with a better offer to win you back. That protection has been in the rules since 2020, so you will not get the retention call some people brace for. You can still contact them yourself and withdraw the switch if you change your mind.

4. The switch completes in the background. A meter reading marks the changeover date. Most switches finish in about three to four days, with ten business days the regulated backstop. Throughout, your power stays on - there is no visit, no disconnection, no gap.

5. Take your own meter reading on the day. This is the step people skip and later regret. If no actual read is taken, your final bill may be estimated - and a high estimate is a nuisance to unwind. Photograph the meter on the changeover date and send it to both retailers.

6. Settle the final bill. Your old retailer sends one last bill up to the switch date, including any credit or account balance. After that, everything comes from the new retailer.

The gotchas worth knowing

Fixed-term break fees vary in structure. Some retailers charge a flat fee of around $150. Others bill a few cents per kWh of your forecast remaining usage plus an admin fee, which on a long remaining term can run well past that. Check how yours is calculated, then weigh it against the annual saving.
"Discount" framing. A plan advertised as cheap "with 20% prompt-payment discount" is really a higher rate you get money off for paying on time. Compare the net price you will actually pay, which is what the comparison sites show.
Credit checks and bonds. Retailers may run a credit check and can ask for a bond. Under the consumer care rules a bond must be reasonable, they must tell you why it is charged and how it is repaid, and it should come back after a year of paying on time.
Medically dependent households. If someone relies on mains power for medical equipment, register as a medically dependent consumer with the new retailer. The status does not transfer automatically and it carries real protections, including a ban on disconnection.
If it goes wrong - a disputed break fee, a botched final read - Utilities Disputes is a free, independent complaints scheme you can escalate to.
Timing. You can switch any time of year, including mid-winter. There is no seasonal penalty.

What to do first

Before you compare, it helps to know what you are actually paying for. Open the NZ Power Bill Calculator, enter your region and the appliances you run, and you will see where your money goes and what your real usage looks like. Then take that usage figure to Billy or Powerswitch and let it find the cheapest plan at your address. Ten minutes, no interruption, and often a few hundred dollars a year.

Related guides

Low user or standard plan: which NZ tariff is cheaper? - get this right before you compare
Electricity price per kWh in NZ, by region - what a fair rate looks like where you live
How to actually read your NZ power bill - find the numbers you need to compare