Glossary

The Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 that may be amended or substituted from time to time.

The permanent disconnection of your premises and removal of your installation control point so that you cannot receive the supply of energy, and will involve the permanent removal of metering equipment and may include removal of your service lines.

The amount of electric energy used at a specific point in time, measured in watts (or multiples thereof, such as kilowatt, megawatt or gigawatt). Demand is measured for individual customers, for groups of customers and for the network.

The relevant standards (by whatever name called) as may be issued and amended by the network owner from time to time which must be met by your premises for continuing connection to the network, and other related matters.

If you have a complaint and feel it has not been resolved by Trustpower, you can contact the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner.

A body that has been set up for the resolution of customer complaints, whether established by statute or by voluntary agreement, to which Trustpower is a party.

As an electricity retailer Trustpower pays a number of charges on behalf of our customers for the operation of the electricity market. A portion of those charges are on-charged to our customers as the Electricity Market Fee at 0.3* cents per unit. This fee includes the Electricity Commission Levy and Frequency Keeping charges that are paid to power generators to assist in maintaining the security of energy supply on the national grid. You will see this on your monthly statement under Electricity Charges as Electricity market Fee - No Discount under the description. *These charges are exclusive of GST.

Means electricity/power.

The amount of power consumed over a period of time, measured in watt hours, kWh, MWh, or GWh.

Any fittings or other equipment that form part of the system that supply power to you.

Can mean wires, pipes, plant and equipment used in the delivery or use of electricity.

The period of time that power is not available, because it has tripped off-line or failed to start for any reason, other than a Network Company or Transpower fault; or because it has been taken off-line when scheduled to operate.

Any person who generates or wholesales power.

An amount of electric power equal to 1,000 MW or 1 billion watts.

An amount of energy equal to 1,000 MWh or 1 billion watt-hours.

Electricity that has been generated using the force of running water, whether from a dam, natural lake or run of river. Usually a dam creates an upper and a lower water reservoir. The height difference between the two reservoirs establishes potential energy that is used to generate electricity by allowing water from the upper reservoir to flow through a hydro turbine to the lower reservoir.

The release of water from a hydroelectric scheme that could potentially have been used to generate power. The results of a hydro-release is referred to as spill data.

A unique number given to the connection point between your home/business and your network company’s power line. Your ICP is shown on your bill.

An amount of energy equal to 1,000 watt-hours.

The kilowatt is a unit of energy. One kilowatt (1 kW) is the amount of power equal to 1,000 watts.

The provision, maintenance, and operation of fittings in accordance with our agreement with the network owner for the supply of power to your premises.

Megawatt hour, the amount of power equal to 1,000 kWh or 1,000,000 watt-hours.

The amount of power equal to 1000 KW or 1,000,000 watts.

The network of high voltage lines, owned by Transpower, that carries electricity around New Zealand.

The network owner’s system for the conveyance of power.

Your network owner is the company owning or operating the network to which your premises are connected. The lines charge on your power bill is from your network owner.

NZX Energy is the wholesale market where electricity is sold by power generators and bought by power retailers. NZX Energy calculates energy prices, allocates electricity volumes and also has responsibility for the allocation process for the gas market.

Period of time when energy demand is far below peak periods, so on the right plan, power charges are lower.

Period of time when energy is delivered near, or at, the maximum peak load.

The point at which the responsibility for the equipment that supplies power transfers between the network owner and you.

Any premises all or part of which you occupy or on which metering or other equipment is installed.

The Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Regulations 2010, technical electricity codes of practice, and other relevant regulations, guidelines, protocols, industry standards and codes of practice as may be amended or substituted from time to time.

means: safe and unobstructed access to and within your premises; and reasonable use of facilities and amenities available to you and ordinarily used in association with our or the network owner’s equipment; and the right to gain immediate access to your premises for meter reads and disconnection and reconnection services or where we or the network owner reasonably believe there is immediate danger to persons or property.

Transpower New Zealand Limited, its successors and assigns, and any other entity or entities which at any time operates the principal national electricity distribution system, or any substantial part of that system.

Unit of electric potential (voltage) and electromotive force.

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.

Groups of wind turbines used to generate power from wind.

The largest wind turbines in New Zealand are up to 145 metres from the ground to the tip of the blade. Each one converts kinetic energy from the wind into electric current.

The gas industry rules and regulations that may be amended or substituted from time to time.

A 45kg capacity LPG cylinder supplied by or on behalf of Trustpower and provided for the Customer's use, subject to the terms of agreement.

The permanent disconnection of your premises and removal of your installation control point so that you cannot receive the supply of energy, and will involve the permanent removal of metering equipment and may include removal of your service lines.

The relevant standards (by whatever name called) as may be issued and amended by the network owner from time to time which must be met by your premises for continuing connection to the network, and other related matters.

If you have a complaint and feel it has not been resolved by Trustpower, you can contact the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner.

A body that has been set up for the resolution of customer complaints, whether established by statute or by voluntary agreement, to which Trustpower is a party.

Means gas.

Any fittings or other equipment that form part of the system that supply gas to you.

Can mean wires, pipes, plant and equipment used in the delivery or use of gas.

Natural gas.

Means On Gas Limited or any other person appointed by Trustpower to deliver LPG and/or Equipment to the Customer from time to time and includes, where applicable, such person's employees, agents, contractors and representatives.

Any person who generates or wholesales gas.

The Annual Fee payable in full, in advance at the beginning of each 12 month period for the term of the agreement. This is a pre-condition for the delivery of Equipment and the supply of the LPG for the 12 month period.

A unique number given to the connection point between your home/business and your network company’s gas line. Your ICP is shown on your bill.

The provision, maintenance, and operation of fittings in accordance with our agreement with the network owner for the supply of gas to your premises.

Trustpower can deliver LPG (bottled gas) to your home or business and collect the old bottle (canister). This is a convenient service providing all the benefits of clean burning natural gas to areas where reticulated gas isn’t available.

The network owner’s system for the conveyance of gas.

The person that owns or operates the network to which your premises are connected.

NZX Energy is the wholesale market where electricity is sold by power generators and bought by power retailers. NZX Energy calculates energy prices, allocates electricity volumes and also has responsibility for the allocation process for the gas market.

The point at which the responsibility for the equipment that supplies gas transfers between the network owner and you.

Any premises all or part of which you occupy or on which metering or other equipment is installed.

The Gas Act 1992, gas codes of practice, and other relevant regulations, guidelines, protocols, industry standards and codes of practice as may be amended or substituted from time to time.

Piped gas. At Trustpower, we’re ready to connect your home or business to reticulated (plumbed) natural gas, wherever there’s a gas line for us to tap into. If you’re currently with another gas provider, you can choose to switch to us.

means: safe and unobstructed access to and within your premises; and reasonable use of facilities and amenities available to you and ordinarily used in association with our or the network owner’s equipment; and the right to gain immediate access to your premises for meter reads and disconnection and reconnection services or where we or the network owner reasonably believe there is immediate danger to persons or property.

As a Trustpower customer you can create a new mailbox with a separate login and password. Contact us to know more.

An ADSL router is different from a regular 'dial up' router. Just ask us if you are unsure about your router.

ADSL technology enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than with a conventional voiceband modem. It does this by utilizing frequencies that are not used by a voice telephone call. A splitter, or DSL filter, allows a single telephone connection to be used for both ADSL service and voice calls at the same time. ADSL can generally only be distributed over short distances from the telephone exchange. ADSL data transmission rates are up to 7Mb/second downstream (to the customer) and up to 740 Kb/second upstream (from the customer), depending on line length and condition. ADSL is not a product in its own right.

This is another name for a computer network.

With Trustpower Phone & Internet we supply voice and internet services over the ultra fast broadband (UFB) network. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know.

A firewall is software or a feature of your router that guards the entrance to a private network and keeps out unauthorized or unwanted traffic. Firewalls will help protect you against viruses, spyware (which can steal personal information) and ad ware (which can display advertising pop ups on your computer).

One gigabyte (1GB) is 1,000 megabytes. To give an idea of size, 114 minutes of uncompressed audio is approximately 1GB.

An organisation providing internet services to the public.

A small unit of data storage, one kilobyte (1 kB) is 1,000 bytes.

This describes two or more computers networked in one location.

A unit of data storage, one megabyte (1 MB) is 1,000 kilobytes. A megabyte is generally enough storage for one book.

A router can be used to network computers together with a shared broadband connection. The most familiar types of routers pass data (such as web pages) between home computers and the internet.

Unsolicited email, advertising, scams and so on. If your email address is published on a web site or you enter your email address in an online form run by unscrupulous people then your email address may become clogged with spam. It's best to only give your email address to web sites you can trust.

A splitter allows a single telephone connection to be used for both ADSL services and phone calls. We can arrange for a technician to install a splitter, so contact us to know more.

The Ultra Fast Broadband network is becoming available to more and more addresses around New Zealand — opening up the option of broadband internet and voice services over fibre (instead of ADSL). Ultra Fast Broadband is available through Trustpower Phone and Internet, so contact us to find out more.

A computer’s USB port/plug allows it to be connected to devices such as a printer, digital camera, scanner and so on, using a USB cable.

Very (high-bit-rate) Digital Subscriber Line. Faster broadband than ADSL, but still on copper lines.

You can divert your calls to any phone number you like — landline, mobile or pager. And you can activate or stop diversion whenever you want to. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

When Call Restriction is activated, no toll calls can be made from your phone. It’s great for businesses or to control teenagers, as you can turn it on or off whenever you like. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

Caller Display lets you know who’s calling, so you can decide how to answer. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

This is a multiple line system, with direct access to extension numbers. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

Privacy when you need it, your phone won’t ring with this feature enabled. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

You can receive faxes anywhere. Faxes go to your usual number and you can redirect them to print at a fax machine of your choice. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

The phone and fax are on the same line. A different ring tone lets you know if it’s a call or a fax. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

This feature is available with Trustpower. You can choose pay as you go or unlimited. Contact us to know more.

A voice mail box shared by up to five land and mobile phones, so you and others can access a central message service. This feature is available with Trustpower, contact us to know more.

PABX allows a single access number to multiple lines for outside callers, while also providing a range of external lines to internal callers. PABX is commonly used by call centres and large businesses.

SmartPack is a bundle of our three most popular smart phone services. For Trustpower plans such as Double Play, Everyday Plus and Home Business Plus plans, the SmartPack includes; Voicemail, Caller Display and Call waiting. For Ultrafast Broadband plans, the SmartPack includes; Voicemail, Call Diversion and Caller Display. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

Your callers can leave a message when on another call, on the Internet or away from the phone. Voicemail has PIN access so it's secure and confidential. And you can listen to your messages any time from almost any phone. This feature is available with Trustpower, so contact us to know more.

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.

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.

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.

The date that a new asset is first available to perform its required function.

If you have a formal complaint about our service, please call or write to Trustpower’s Complaints Resolution Officer.

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.

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.

The process of closing down and putting a facility into a safe state, after its useful life has come to an end.

The removal of equipment before it reaches its normal retirement age; with the substitution of new, typically more efficient equipment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 is a tax chargeable on most goods and services in New Zealand, it is added to your energy and telecommunications bill.

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.

Water storage high above the power station.

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.

The removal of a generating unit from service, to allow work on specific components and prevent a potential forced outage.

Trustpower’s Master Trust Deed has rules governing our bond issues.

The provision and maintenance of meters, relays, ripple receivers, collection of data from the meters and ancillary services as determined by Trustpower.

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.

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.

Pipes used to carry water, typically now made of steel, but historically often made of timber.

Includes a corporation.

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.

Any premises all or part of which you occupy or on which metering or other equipment is installed.

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.

Directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, professional advisors, invitees, or other authorised persons, or persons for whom a party is responsible.

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.

A hydroelectric scheme without any significant water storage.

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.

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.

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.

The generation of electricity with a renewable energy source, notably water, wind, solar or geothermal.

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.

An environmental programme to transfer eels, fish or other species in ways that support breeding or regeneration.

Means Trustpower and, where applicable, its employees, agents, contractors, representatives successors and assignees.

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’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.

A machine for directly converting the kinetic and/or thermal energy of air, hot gas, steam, or water into energy.

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.