You are eligible for the Top Energy discount if you were connected to the Top Energy network and your name is on the bill on 31 March 2024, and you have used more than 1 kilowatt hour (kWh) of power between 01 April 2023 – 31 March 2024.
To receive the full $200, you must have used over 1,130 kWh.
If you have used between 1 and 1,130 kWh, you will receive a minimum of $57 if on a Low User Residential Plan or $142 if on a Standard User Residential Plan or General Commercial Plan, and the total dollar amount will increase depending on your kWh power consumption.
If you were not connected on 31 March 2024, you won’t be eligible for the discount.
You are eligible for the Top Energy dividend if you were connected to the Top Energy network, and you have used more than 1 kilowatt hour (kWh) of power between 01 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 and paid network charges of $100 excluding GST or greater.
This will be a fixed payment of $100.
If you were not connected on 31 March 2024, you won’t be eligible for the dividend.
For most customers this will appear on your bill with a May date. If it doesn’t appear as a discount line on your bill by June, please check with your electricity retailer.
If you:
• get a monthly bill by email or post your Top Energy discount and dividend is credited to your account by your electricity retailer and this will appear on your bill.
• have a Direct Debit Payment, your Top Energy lines charge discount and dividend is credited to your account by your electricity retailer, and this will appear on your bill. Your power bill is lower, and less cash than usual will be taken from your account.
• pay by Automatic Payment, your Top Energy lines charge discount and dividend tops up your account and, depending on your retailer, you may be free to choose to reduce the amount you pay at each instalment or put a stop to it for a while.
• have a pre-paid electricity account, your Top Energy lines charge discount and dividend tops up your account. Next time you call your retailer or pop into the Post Office, check your balance, and choose whether or not to make your usual payment.
Top Energy is the company that owns the power lines network. Top Energy electricity lines charges are usually included in the power bill you receive from your electricity retailer. It doesn’t matter which electricity retailer you use.
But some residential or commercial developments and some apartment buildings do not use the Top Energy electricity network. Those places use an embedded or customer-owned network. People in these places are not customers on the Top Energy electricity network and are not eligible for the dividend.
Places that are not connected to the Vector electricity network include Arvida Te Puna Waiora on Hall Road and Kerikeri Retirement Village on Kerikeri Road
Check with your electricity retailer or the property manager to see if your power bill includes Top Energy lines charges.
We don’t reduce the lines portion of your bill, as your electricity retailer has no obligation to pass on lines cost reductions, however the benefit of a discount or dividend must be passed through.
If you were connected to the Top Energy network on 31 March 2024, you should contact the electricity retailer that you had the account with on that date.
It must be that your neighbour has more than one electricity account and connection point.
Only if you claim your electricity payments as a business expense in your tax return.
Yes. $173.91 + GST of $26.09 = $200
The total credit from Top Energy is increasing from $250 to $300. This credit is $50 more than last year, due to the strong performance of our investment in Ngāwhā Generation. The make up for the credit is now made up of two parts, a discount and a dividend which reflects the contribution from the Network and investment in Ngawha.
If you’re a NZ tax resident, you will have to pay tax on dividends. However, the dividend does have 33% of prepaid tax attached to reduce the amount of tax you need to pay. You will receive a statement to this effect from the Top Energy Consumer Trust in the post.
For more details please refer to: IRD - imputation credits
No. Dividends falls outside the scope of GST as it is a distribution of profits and not considered a good or service.
You should call your electricity retailer and they will arrange a payment or offset against future bills.
Discounts and dividends are paid through electricity accounts and it is the account holder on 31 March who gets the discount and/or dividend.
Discounts and dividends are paid through electricity accounts and it is the account holder on 31 March who gets the discount and/or dividend. It’s possible that you will qualify for a lines charge discount from the lines company in your new region.
No. The discount and/or dividend is once per year.
No. We apply the same payment date to everybody.
Contact Top Energy on 0800 867 363 or email feedback@topenergy.co.nz to engage our complaints process.
