Glossary

Plain-English explanations of the terms you'll come across while using RateGate.

Benchmark cost

The cost shown on the chart for a set amount of power over 28 days, so every plan can be lined up against the same yardstick. If you've uploaded a bill, it's based on your own units used. If not, it defaults to a standard 650-unit benchmark. GST and the EA levy are included, discounts are not.

Blended rate

The consumption-weighted average of a plan's different per-unit rates, like day and night, or peak and off-peak, reduced to one cents-per-kWh figure so plans are easy to compare. RateGate weights each rate by how much of your actual usage fell into that period, averages them out, then adds the EA levy on top. This is the same figure labelled Variable rate in the chart's hover tooltip and Effective Unit Rate (EUR) on the chart's Y-axis — same number, different labels depending on where you're looking. Retailers sometimes call it this too.

Confidence rating (High, Medium, Low)

A score attached to any plan RateGate suggests as a possible switch, showing how fair a comparison it really is, not how much you'd save. It starts at High and drops a level for each reason to doubt it, like old data, a mismatched tariff type, or a meter that doesn't support the suggested plan.

Controlled load

A separate circuit, usually your hot water cylinder, that your local lines company switches on and off at set times of day. It's billed at its own rate, and that rate is usually cheaper than your normal one.

Daily rate

The single cents-per-day figure RateGate uses for a plan's fixed charge, worked out the same way as the blended rate: if your daily charge changed partway through the billing period, we weight each amount by how many days it applied and average it out. This is the figure used to calculate benchmark cost.

EA levy

A small charge per kWh set by the Electricity Authority, the government body that regulates the power industry. It's already folded into the blended rate shown on RateGate, so you don't need to add it yourself.

Effective date

The date a plan's rates started applying, taken from the bill they were read off. RateGate uses this to work out which rate is the most current for a plan and to fade out older data on the chart.

Estimated annual savings

The "up to X% a year" figure on the homepage. It comes from comparing the cheapest and most expensive plan seen in your suburb, both priced at a fixed reference usage of 8,000 kWh a year. It's a sense of scale for the area, not a personal quote.

Fixed charge (daily charge)

The flat amount you're charged just for being connected to the grid, whether you use one unit of power or a thousand. It's charged every day, no matter what.

GST-inclusive

Every price on RateGate already has GST added, at New Zealand's standard rate of 15%. That means the numbers you see are what you'd actually pay, not a pre-tax figure that gets bumped up later.

ICP (Installation Control Point)

The unique ID number for your specific electricity connection, printed on every power bill.

Low User

A government-regulated plan type built for low-usage households, with a lower daily charge and a higher per-unit rate than a standard plan. RateGate only records this when a bill states it outright. Low User plans will be phased out of the electricity market in New Zealand in 2027.

Network code (lines company)

The local company, like Vector, Orion, or Wellington Electricity, that owns the physical power lines running to your property. It's completely separate from your retailer, the company that actually bills you. Most bills don't name their lines company, so RateGate usually can't tell you who yours is, and it never uses this to decide which plans to compare you against.

Retailer

The electricity company that sells you power and sends you your bill, like Mercury, Genesis, or Contact. You'll see this called your "power company" or "vendor" in different places on the site and in emails — they all mean the same thing. This is a completely different thing from your network code (lines company), which owns the physical power lines and has nothing to do with who bills you.

Smart meter

A meter that records how much power you use in each time period, rather than just a single total. It's what makes day-night and time-of-use pricing possible in the first place.

Tariff type

The pricing structure of a plan. A flat tariff charges one rate all day. A day-night tariff has separate day and night rates. A time-of-use (TOU) tariff splits the day into peak, shoulder, and off-peak periods, usually rewarding you for using power outside peak hours. Day-night and TOU both need a smart meter or equivalent.

User type

Whether a plan is priced as Low User or Standard User, the two government-regulated categories that set the trade-off between daily charge and per-unit rate. Low User plans have a lower daily charge and higher per-unit rate; Standard User plans flip that balance. RateGate only records this when a bill states it outright, otherwise it shows as "Unspecified".

Variable rate

Another name for the blended rate, the single cents-per-kWh figure RateGate shows for a plan's per-unit pricing — this is the label used in the chart's hover tooltip. It's called this because, unlike the daily charge, it varies with how much power you use.