How power gets to your home.

There are five steps to get power from where its generated to where its needed.

1. Generators

Generators produce electricity. Meridian is New Zealand's largest electricity generator. All electricity generated in New Zealand is sold into the wholesale electricity market for supply to electricity retailers. Like most other generators, Meridian is also an electricity retailer.

2. Transpower

Transpower is the organisation responsible for transmission of the electricity produced by generators. They operate the National Grid, which is essentially the system of high voltage power lines that connects to the power stations to send electricity around the country.

3. Network Companies

Also called distribution or lines companies, network companies own the power lines and networks in local areas. These connect to the National Grid to deliver power to businesses and homes.

4. Electricity Retailers

Sometimes referred to as power companies, electricity retailers such as Meridian purchase electricity from the wholesale market to sell to residential and business users.

5. Your Home or Business

The last part of the process is providing power to your home or business. You can buy electricity from any retailer you choose in your area.