Billing

• What’s the difference between a Low User Plan and a Standard User Plan?

  Low User option

  If you use less than 8,000 units a year (about 660kwh/month) at your primary residence, the Low User option may be best for you. This rises to 9,000 units (750kwh/month) in parts of the lower South Island.

  You pay:

  • a lower daily fixed charge
  • a higher variable charge for each unit of electricity you use. The Low User option is only available for your primary residence and not, for example, a holiday home.

  Standard User option

  If you use more electricity, a Standard User option may be better.

  You pay:

  • a higher daily rate
  • a slightly lower rate for each unit of electricity you use. 
• Why is my bill an estimate?

  There are a couple of reasons why your bill may have been an estimate:

  • The meter reader may not have had access to your property
  • We might have received an actual read for your electricity but not for gas, so we have estimated your gas usage (or vice versa)
  • If you have a smart meter, it may not have been communicating on the scheduled billing date

  Please note, your estimate read will be corrected when you get an actual read the following month, so there is no need to generate a new bill. Your next bill from us will be based on an actual read and any difference between your last actual read and your next actual read would be balanced out. 

• Why has my gas bill been estimated?
  There are a couple of reasons why your gas may have been an estimate:

   

  • The meter reader may not have had access to your property.

  • If you have a smart meter, it may not have been communicating on the scheduled billing date.

   

  Please note, your estimate read will be corrected when you get an actual read the following month, so there is no need to generate a new bill.

   

  Your next bill from us will be based on an actual read and any difference between your last actual read and your next actual read would be balanced out.
• Why have I been billed on estimate reads when I provided my reading?
  A customer read is when you provide us with your meter reads yourself without one of our contractors visiting your property to read your meter, or if current reads have not been received on our end from your smart meter.

   

  If you have recently provided a reading and we have generated your bill on that day, this will show as an estimate read on your bill.
• Why have I been double charged?

  There could be a few reasons why you have been double charged. This could be due to a price change that has recently happened or if you had recently changed your user plan that you are on.

  If you have not had a recent plan change or a price change, please contact our customer care team.

• Understanding Your Power Bill

  How we do it at Black Box Power

  Here at Black Box Power, we do things a little differently. We think it’s important that our customers know exactly what they’re paying for, which is why we provide transparent billing by itemising all our charges.

  You’re probably aware that Energy Rates have an impact on how much you pay for power, but you might be surprised to learn that Energy Rates usually only make up a small portion of your bill. From Network Services charges to Electricity Authority Levies and everything in between, we put it all out in the open on your power bill so you can see exactly what your money is paying for.

   

  Page 1 of your power bill: the essentials

  The first page of your power bill is fairly straightforward. Here, we provide you with all the essential billing information you need, including the total amount due, your energy usage history and your account information. You’ll also find the contact details of our Customer Care  Team should you need to get in touch with us.

   

  Page 2 of your power bill: beyond Energy Rates

  The second page of your power bill is where things start to get a little more interesting. Here, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of all the charges, so you can see exactly where your money is going. This includes:

   

  Energy Rates

  This is what we charge you for your electricity. Energy Rates can be separated into two different rates

  Uncontrolled: The rate per unit you pay for electricity.

  Controlled: There are certain appliances in your home such as your hot water cylinder, which your power company can switch off for short periods of time when there are emergencies or unusually high demand on the network. The controlled rate is how much you pay per unit for the supply of electricity to these controlled appliances.

   

  Delivery

  These are all charges related to the delivery of your electricity and includes Network Services, Retailer Services, Metering, and the Electricity Authority Levy. All electricity retailers charge for these components, however, they don't always itemise it on their bills.

   

  Network Service Charges

  These costs go toward paying network companies, who are the ones responsible for maintaining power poles, power lines and transformers, and ensuring your electricity gets to your home. Network services charges include fixed daily charges and variable service charges, which are based on how much energy you used during the billing period. Fixed charges apply even if you don’t use any electricity.

   

  Electricity Authority Levy

  Your bill will also include an Electricity Authority Levy, which goes toward funding the Electricity Authority, an independent entity that is tasked with regulating New Zealand’s electricity market. The levy is usually based on how much power you used during the billing period.

   

  Metering

  As you may know, electricity meters are used to measure and record how much electricity your household uses. Metering charges cover the costs involved with reading and maintaining your electricity meter.

   

  Retailer Services

  These are the costs involved with running a retail electricity company, including providing customer support, maintaining billing systems and a range of other administrative tasks. These are variable costs; they are charged per day and on your energy usage.

   

  Broadband

  If you have added Broadband to your account, your Broadband plan is charged one month in advance. On your first bill, you will see a pro-rata monthly charge for part of a month and a full monthly charge.

   

  Low cost electricity meets transparent pricing

  We believe that all electricity customers have the right to know what they’re paying for when they receive their power bill. By clearly itemising our charges, we’re able to show exactly where your money is going and provide our customers with a greater level of transparency. Please see this handy PDF for more information about reading your Black Box Power power bill.

   

  If you'd like to see where this information is shown on your bill, please check out our example bill. 

   

   

   

   

• When is my next meter reading?

  This depends on when you get billed during the month.
  
  If you have a non-smart meter, please make sure we have access to your meter so we can read it to make sure your bill is up to date and accurate. If we are unable to access your meter, we will leave a card in your mailbox to let you know. If you do receive an estimated bill, any difference between your last actual read and your next actual read would be balanced out so there is no need to generate a new bill.
  
  If you feel like we have not read your meter correctly, please contact our customer care team and request for a special read, where one of our contractors will visit your property to read your outside of their scheduled timeframe.
  
  Please note, this will take up to 10 working days to complete and incur a $30.00 fee which will show on your next invoice once the special read is complete if this is not your first special read with us. 

• Why do I have a separate bill for electricity and gas?

  We try to bill you every month, however sometimes we have not received a reading for your electricity or gas in this time frame. As we want to get a bill to you monthly, we have only billed your electricity (or gas) that we have readings for.

  Please feel free to email a photo of your actual reading to customer.care@blackboxpower.co.nz and we will update your bill to reflect both your electricity and gas charges.

• Do you send out paper bills in the mail?

  No, Black Box Power customers must have email bill delivery. 

• What do I do if my bill is an estimate?

  Your estimate read will be corrected when you get an actual read the following month, so there is no need to generate a new bill. Your next bill from us will be based on an actual read and any difference between your last actual read and your next actual read would be balanced out.  

  For more information on why your bill may have been an estimate, click here.

• How frequently will I be billed?

  You will typically be billed on a monthly basis and you have 14 days to pay your bill.