Electricity, gas & trash costs in NZ

[Ace]

What are the costs in NZ like for electricity, LPG (bottled, used for a gas hob) and trash? ?Per KWh for electric, therm for gas or bag / can for trash would be great, but whatever units are handy would be fine too.

I'm trying to do a little advance budget planning, and my current estimates are just wild guesses.

Sorry Ace, I moved this down here as I thought it was a very valid topic for this particular category. MB ? ?

[MotherBear]

I can't help with prices in NZ, not being there myself, but wondered if this might help a little with regard to electricity prices.

[Ace]

Yes, that was very helpful -- thanks!

Electricity costs seem to be in the area of NZ$0.15 per KWh for "anytime" use, including a 10% discount for paying on-time. That's under half what I pay in California. Various discounts are available for off-peak or night use, with night rates as low as NZ$0.09 / KWh (off-peak discounts in CA are only possible by paying a huge premium on daytime rates).

Our new house uses electricity for both heat and hot water. I've always used gas for that in the past, so that will be new. In CA, it would cost a fortune to do it that way....

[pianist1]

Hi,
I think how much you will actually spend on your electricity/gas bill will depend on the kind of house that you buy here. If you get one of the older houses without insulation and single-paned windows, you could run up a big bill on heating. Many Kiwis don't heat their homes to "American standards"....I have heard horror stories from other Americans who had heating bills over $500 a month during the winter. Also, I have learned to "minimize" trash because each trash bag costs so much. I put out one (smaller than 30 gallons) bag of trash out a week versus filling up our whole herbie back home in Florida. It is a matter breaking down things that can be recycled (tissue boxes etc) and not putting these in the regular trash, but in the recycling bin.
Good luck! Where are you looking to move to? The South Island where we are, is colder, hence higher heating bills...

[Ace]

We are in the process of buying a house in Nelson. We love the area.

About how much do you pay for one bag of trash?

It's good to know that recycling is available. How is that usually done? Do they take cardboard, aluminum, glass and plastic?

[Glenda]

Not so sure about the Nelson area, but here in Northland we take our own recyclables(sp?) to our local recycle centre. There are large bags for plastic bottles, bins for glass, cans, car batteries, books, clothing, cardboard and newspaper. It is such a busy place that it is actually manned.

Rubbish/trash is collected once a week in most built up areas in special bags bought for $2.50 from the supermarket, or with bought stick-on labels to attach to plain bags. Some rural areas have collections fortnightly, and quite often in rural areas (or private roads) you have to take your trash to the end of the road or designated area.

Our electric bill on 'All Day Economy' is 19.320 cents per kWh. It seems they also charge for the meter at 71.87 cents a day. Our average year's consumption is around $130 a month ... but as pianist says, every house is different but we use the usual household appliances, and during winter have had to wear a lot of clothing and sit in front of electric fan heaters to warm up rather than warm the room up.

We have an electric oven and a gas hob and fill a heavy bottle up at the local petrol station every 4/5 months. I think I've paid around 80cents a litre and around $24-28 a bottle.

Hope that helps! :)

[MotherBear]

From what I've heard, trash collection and costs vary widely from area to area. Some buy the bags, as Glenda says, and the bags are collected whereas other people (particularly those in very rural areas) may have to take theirs to a dumping station or garbage tip. Some of these places actually keep any items that are still usable and sell them on. This one even has its own website . As for costs and what's available in each area, it varies quite a lot so it would be difficult to put a price on disposing of your trash. In some places the plastic bags are cheaper than others so not even that is the same.

With costs for heating a house, it does pay to have a north-facing house as it will then get heat from the sun, thereby saving you some money.

If its Nelson you're looking at, Nick and Jacky are there so perhaps they can add a bit of useful info.