Christchurch City Council says it has received a $250,000 refund after being charged more than expected for street lighting services by Contact Energy.
The refund comes after the Electricity Authority filed a formal complaint with an independent rulings panel against the company.
The Electricity Authority alleges that, between early March 2022 and the end of September 2025, Contact Energy did not maintain an accurate and current distributed unmetered load (DUML) database for the council. It is also alleged that it did not take all practicable steps to ensure the submission information was complete and accurate.
Contact Energy has acknowledged that it breached the code and has a penalty of up to $200,000.
According to the authority, Contact Energy was responsible for managing the council’s streetlight database during that period.
It also noted that Contact Energy did not resolve distributed unmetered load (DUML) accuracy issues flagged in several audits, which ultimately led to the overcharging.
Christchurch City Council head of facilities and property Bruce Rendall said the discrepancy was first identified by an independent auditor, after which Contact Energy confirmed the overcharge.
“The matter is limited to streetlighting charges,” Rendall said.
“Council is not a party to the Electricity Authority’s current complaint process.”
Christchurch City Council looks after a streetlighting network of about 44,000 lights across the city.
Most of these are LED, and they’re run through a central management system, with smart controllers fitted to individual streetlights to help monitor and control their operation.