- Bundled Services
Bundling is one of the key ways Trustpower Phone & Internet deliver better value and full service. It’s all about offering multiple services as part of one plan.
- BusinessChoices
If you use over 10,000 units of electricity a year, or your internet or phone usage passes a certain level, you’ll be invited to join our BusinessChoices programme. You’ll then gain significant benefits, such as saving 4% or more on our standard power prices.
- Capacity/Max Capacity
The amount of electric power that can be delivered by a generating unit or electric system. The amount is determined by the manufacturer’s nameplate ratings or by testing. For example, the capacity of a combustion turbine power plant, based on its nameplate rating, could be stated as 225 MW.
- Commissioning Date/Commissioned
The date that a new asset is first available to perform its required function.
- Complaints Resolution Officer
If you have a formal complaint about our service, please call or write to Trustpower’s Complaints Resolution Officer.
- Cumec
Unit of measurement for water flow. One cumec is one cubic metre of water a second, 1m3/s. When in flood, the flow of many large New Zealand rivers is over 2,000 cumecs.
- Customer Service Agreement
When you sign up as a Trustpower customer, you receive a customer service agreement brochure. This clearly states our commitments to you and the responsibilities you have in return.
- Decommissioned
The process of closing down and putting a facility into a safe state, after its useful life has come to an end.
- Early Replacement
The removal of equipment before it reaches its normal retirement age; with the substitution of new, typically more efficient equipment.
- Energy Efficiency
In terms of generation, this is about using less energy, to produce any given amount of electric energy. In terms of use, it’s about using less power to achieve the same result. For example, replacing a 74-watt incandescent light bulb with an 18-watt compact fluorescent light bulb will deliver the same amount of lumens, but with far greater energy efficiency.
- Fish Pass
An adaption in the water channel to enable fish and eels to pass upstream or downstream of any manmade structure, including dams. Fish passes are an important way to support breeding and spawning.
- Friends
When you join Trustpower as a residential customer, you’re welcomed as a Trustpower Friend. Every two months you automatically go in the draw to win a $1,000 power credit. Some customers receiving special offers may not receive Friends pricing.
- Friends Extra
If you’re with Trustpower Friends or Friends Gold as a power and/or gas customer, you can choose to sign up for a fixed term Friends Extra membership. This gives you an additional 5% discount on your power and/or gas unit charges or LPG bottle delivery. There is a $95 exit fee for power and a $55 exit fee for gas if you choose to leave Friends Extra within the allocated fixed term.
- Friends Gold
If you’re a Trustpower Friend, you’ll be welcomed as a Friends Gold customer if you have been an energy only customer for five years or an energy and Telco customer for three years, and you spend a minimum amount per year. Friends Gold customers receive a range of special benefits.
- Good Industry Practice
The exercise of that degree of skill, diligence, prudence and foresight which would reasonably and ordinarily be expected from a skilled and experienced person engaged in the same type of undertaking under the same or similar conditions in New Zealand at that time.
- GST
GST is a tax chargeable on most goods and services in New Zealand, it is added to your energy and telecommunications bill.
- Head
The height difference between stored water and the power station. The greater the head, the greater the force of water, so more power can be generated.
- Head Pond
Water storage high above the power station.
- Longfin Eel/Tuna
The New Zealand Longfin Eel, or Tuna in Maori, is one of about 35 New Zealand native freshwater fish species and can live to about 100 years old. Numbers have reduced significantly in recent years, due to commercial exploitation, habitat loss and declining water quality. At a number of generation sites, Trustpower supports measures to aid the passage that is necessary for breeding.
- Maintenance Outage
The removal of a generating unit from service, to allow work on specific components and prevent a potential forced outage.
- Master Trust Deed
Trustpower’s Master Trust Deed has rules governing our bond issues.
- Metering Services
The provision and maintenance of meters, relays, ripple receivers, collection of data from the meters and ancillary services as determined by Trustpower.
- Other Services
Any and all additional services provided by us to you (excluding energy, bond and service fees) and includes for example, but is not limited to, metering services and telecommunication services.
- Payment Date
The payment date is generally the 20th day of the month, following the month in which a fee is incurred. However, Trustpower customers can choose their preferred payment date, between the 1st and the 28th of the month, to suit their own needs.
- Penstocks
Pipes used to carry water, typically now made of steel, but historically often made of timber.
- Person
Includes a corporation.
- Planned Outage
The approved time period that a key piece of infrastructure, like a generation site, is not required to be available for service. Typical reasons are inspection or maintenance of one or more major equipment groups. This is usually scheduled well in advance of the planned outage period.
- Premises
Any premises all or part of which you occupy or on which metering or other equipment is installed.
- Renewable Resources
Resources used by power plants or other generating devices that are generally considered to be renewable. These include biomass, water, photovoltaics, solar, wave or wind energy.
- Representatives
Directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, professional advisors, invitees, or other authorised persons, or persons for whom a party is responsible.
- Resource Consent
All infrastructure developments, and any changes to natural environments must gain a Resource Consent. A Resource Consent is authorisation given to activities or uses of natural and physical resources, which is required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991.
- Run of River
A hydroelectric scheme without any significant water storage.
- Service Fee
a charge for services provided such as (but not limited to) account establishment, reconnections, disconnections, disconnection notices, payment dishonours, arrangement fees, lodgement and agency payment arrangements, internal fault call outs, non-registration administration, tariff changes or tariff combining, special or final meter reads, meter tests, and other sundry services provided as determined from time to time by Trustpower.
- SmoothPay
Instead of your power bill fluctuating with the seasons and causing you headaches, we work out an average amount that you pay each month. Full details are here.
- Spill Data
Data on the reason for, and extent of, a hydro-release. Here is the latest spill data for hydro-releases from Trustpower’s Coleridge, Matahina, and Waipori hydroelectric schemes.
- Sustainable Generation
The generation of electricity with a renewable energy source, notably water, wind, solar or geothermal.
- Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (TECT)
TECT was formed in December 1993 and is now one of New Zealand’s largest energy trusts. TECT’s income and capital is used to provide benefits to consumers, who are Trustpower account holders in Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty District.
- Trap and Transfer Programme
An environmental programme to transfer eels, fish or other species in ways that support breeding or regeneration.
- Trustpower
Means Trustpower Limited and, where applicable, its employees, agents, contractors, representatives successors and assignees.
- Trustpower Lend A Hand Foundation
In many parts of New Zealand and in Snowtown Australia, the foundation gives a hand to local charities, organisations, schools and individuals. We’re proud to sponsor Lend A Hand Foundation.
- Trustpower Phone & Internet
Trustpower’s wholly owned telecommunications subsidiary, with over 27,000 customers. Originally called Kinect, Trustpower Phone & Internet works in collaboration with multiple partners and actively promotes voice and internet services over the Ultrafast broadband (UFB) network.
- Turbine
A machine for directly converting the kinetic and/or thermal energy of air, hot gas, steam, or water into energy.
- Vulnerable Customer
a customer who has told us, or about whom it appears to us, that disconnection of energy at their premises presents a clear threat to their health or well-being or of a member of their household, or who has mains powered equipment for critical medical support.