Company Information

The Electricity Invercargill Limited (EIL) network has provided power to Invercargill since 1905 under various names over the years, most notably the Invercargill Municipal Electricity Department.

The Invercargill City Council owns EIL through its subsidiary Invercargill City Holdings Ltd. Invercargill City Holdings retains 100% ownership of the Company and receives an annual dividend of approximately $4 million.

EIL provides power to over 17,500 homes and businesses across Invercargill City and Bluff. The Regulatory Value of the EIL network assets is $95 million. These assets consist of over 665 km of lines and cables and over 450 distribution transformers, with a capacity of over 156 MVA.

EIL contracts PowerNet to manage its network assets and charges PowerNet a fee for the use of the network. PowerNet adds maintenance costs and overheads to this, and the total costs are on-charged to electricity retailers through what is known in the industry as wheeling fees or line charges.

EIL has completed one of the most significant undergrounding initiatives of all network companies in New Zealand. The company’s determination to increase public safety and enhance the visual environment has resulted in the completion of the undergrounding programme in Invercargill City.

As a result, the EIL network is consistently one of the most reliable networks in New Zealand. It is amongst the lowest-priced networks yet provides a reasonable level of return to its shareholder. Electricity network companies are measured by their financial and network performance. EIL continues to be ranked by the Commerce Commission as one of the most efficiently operated networks in New Zealand.