The electricity industry has four main components – generation, transmission, distribution and retail.
We are the membership organisation for the businesses that operate in the distribution part of the sector — the 29 lines companies.
Generation
Electricity in Aotearoa is mostly generated by five major companies, with the government a major shareholder in three of those. Nearly 80% of our electricity comes from renewable sources.
Transmission
Transpower (which is a state-owned enterprise) owns and operates our national electricity transmission system. It supplies electricity to lines companies using high capacity, high voltage transmission lines.
Distribution
Twenty-nine lines companies (all members of the ENA) distribute electricity throughout Aotearoa. Lines companies connect to the national grid and distribute the electricity to consumers through their local networks. To see who the 29 distributors are, check out our lines company map.
Retail
Electricity retailers are the companies that sell electricity to you. Retailers buy electricity from generating companies and bill customers for the energy they consume. Their bills to customers also includes the cost of national transmission and local distribution.