By Live 24/7 Aurora fault line
Power out in Dunedin, Wanaka or Queenstown?
Call Aurora on 0800 22 00 05, 24 hours. Your retailer cannot dispatch a crew. For a fallen line, sparks or any fire risk, dial 111 first, stay 8 metres clear, then ring Aurora.
Live status board at auroraenergy.co.nz/network-information/network-status.
Aurora at a glance
The numbers behind your network bill
Connection points (ICPs)
~91,000
Dunedin + Otago + Queenstown
Network conductor
~12,400 km
Alpine + urban + rural
24/7 fault line
0800 22 00 05
Free-call, NZ-wide
Customised Price-Quality Path
CPP 2021-26
Bespoke ComCom regime
Where Aurora owns the wires
Three regions, three very different demand patterns
Aurora's footprint is dominated by Dunedin city density, Central Otago rural sparseness and Queenstown explosive growth. Each pulls the network in a different direction.
| Area | Density profile | Network type |
|---|---|---|
| Dunedin city + harbour | Established urban | Mixed, mature |
| Mosgiel + Taieri Plain | Suburban + rural | Mixed overhead/underground |
| Central Otago (Alexandra, Cromwell, Roxburgh) | Rural, vineyard, orchard | Overhead, long feeders |
| Queenstown + Frankton + Arrowtown | High-growth tourism | Mixed, capacity-stretched |
| Wanaka + Hawea | Growing resort | Mixed, recently upgraded |
| Strath Taieri + Maniototo rural | Sparse rural, snow exposure | Long overhead lines |
Source: Aurora Energy Asset Management Plan and Commerce Commission Information Disclosure. North of the Waitaki river the network belongs to Network Waitaki; the southern Otago JV network is OtagoNet, managed by PowerNet.
What most pages will not tell you
Three structural facts that change how Aurora affects your bill
The 2018 ComCom intervention is still on your bill
In 2018 the Commerce Commission accepted that Aurora had under-invested for years, especially in Queenstown. It approved a Customised Price-Quality Path letting Aurora raise prices faster than DPP allows, in exchange for an accelerated capex programme worth more than NZ$700 million. That extra recovery is in every bill in Aurora's footprint through the current CPP period (2021 to 2026).
Queenstown is the network growth shock
Queenstown-Lakes population grew more than 30 per cent over the decade to 2023. Aurora's pre-2018 network was sized for a much smaller resort. Urgent zone substation and feeder upgrades cost a premium versus planned growth. Queenstown customers absorb that capex through their pricing zone, and new connections face elevated capacity contribution charges.
Dunedin-Central Otago-Queenstown are three different bills
Aurora's pricing methodology runs separate pricing zones. A flat Dunedin urban ICP, a vineyard in Cromwell and a Queenstown ski lodge each pay different fixed daily and c/kWh components. The retail price you see advertised is uniform; the lines pass-through is not, and the gap between the cheapest Aurora zone and the most expensive can be 40 per cent.
How to reach Aurora
Aurora contact methods, by the reason you are calling
| Reason | Channel | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Power cut, fallen line, network fault | 0800 22 00 05 | 24/7, free-call |
| Life-threatening hazard | 111, then Aurora | 24/7 |
| Appliance damage claim | auroraenergy.co.nz/contact-us | Online, 4 to 8 week processing |
| Planned outage notification | Live status board | 5 to 10 working days notice |
| New connection or capacity upgrade | auroraenergy.co.nz/new-connection | Business hours, capacity contribution may apply |
| Solar export or EV charger approval | auroraenergy.co.nz / distributed generation | Business hours, 4 to 8 week assessment |
| Billing question | Your retailer (Aurora does not bill end customers) | Retailer's hours |
| Unresolved complaint | Utilities Disputes | After Aurora's final written answer |
Where your time actually pays
What an Aurora household should actually do
Aurora\'s CPP allows higher annual price increases than the DPP4 distributors, so the case for active demand-side management is unusually strong.
Treat each annual CPP price increase as a switch-retailer trigger
Aurora's lines charges step up each April under the CPP. Retailers pass these through. Use the rate change announcement (Aurora publishes pricing each March) as the moment to re-shop your retail plan, because that is when the bundled bill jumps.
If you live in Queenstown-Lakes, verify capacity contribution before any new connection
Queenstown new builds and significant capacity upgrades often carry capacity contribution charges in the thousands of dollars. These are not the monthly lines charge: they are a one-off levy passed on to the developer or owner. Get the figure in writing from Aurora before signing.
After the next big alpine storm, file the damage claim
Aurora's alpine and rural sections see heavy snow and wind exposure. Equipment-failure surges are typically accepted on claim; pure storm events are rejected as force majeure. Capture the timestamp from the live status board and an electrician's report linking failure to the network event.
The Selectra expert answers
Frequently asked questions about Aurora Energy
Aurora's 24/7 fault line is 0800 22 00 05, free-call. Use it for any power cut, downed line or fault across Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes. For an immediate hazard, dial 111 first.
A bespoke regulatory regime granted by the Commerce Commission to a distributor whose default path is unworkable. In Aurora's case the 2018 application followed years of under-investment, particularly in Queenstown. The CPP runs 2021 to 2026 and allows Aurora to raise lines charges faster than DPP4 distributors in exchange for an accelerated capex programme of NZ$700 million plus.
Two things compound. (a) The CPP itself allows higher annual lines increases than the DPP4 used by most NZ distributors. (b) Within Aurora, different geographic pricing zones face different absolute levels: Queenstown ICPs typically pay more than Dunedin urban ICPs because of the recent capacity build-out. Always check the lines-charge line item on your own bill rather than rely on city averages.
Yes, with Aurora directly. Use the contact route at auroraenergy.co.nz/contact-us. Include photos of the appliance, original receipt, age, the outage timestamp from the network status board and an electrician's report linking failure to the surge. Processing typically takes 4 to 8 weeks. Equipment-failure surges have higher acceptance than storm or snow-driven events (force majeure).
Aurora is 100 per cent owned by Dunedin City Holdings Limited, the investment arm of Dunedin City Council. Dividends flow to the council, which uses them to offset rates rather than as direct consumer rebates. Despite the council ownership, Aurora is regulated as a stand-alone monopoly distributor under the Commerce Commission's CPP.
No. Aurora is the regulated monopoly distributor for Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes. You can switch retailer (Mercury, Genesis, Contact and the rest) any day, but the Aurora lines charge is passed through unchanged. North of the Waitaki river the network is Network Waitaki; the southern Otago JV network is OtagoNet (see the coverage notes above for the dedicated guides).
For a single fault: 1 to 4 hours, inside the regulated SAIDI envelope. For a region-wide alpine storm or major snowfall: several days for back-country sections (Strath Taieri, Maniototo, deep rural Central Otago). Aurora prioritises hospitals, water pumping stations, telecom and high-density urban feeders. Civil Defence opens welfare centres when outages exceed 24 hours.