Recent trends in revenue and demand
MainPower’s revenue from distribution line charges has increased over recent years. Revenue from line charges, which made up most of MainPower’s revenue, increased around 16% from 2008 to 2011, over and above inflation. Distribution line charge revenue from residential and smaller commercial customers increased by 12%, from medium-sized customers by 22%, and from large-sized customers by 30%. Most of MainPower’s revenue came from residential and commercial customers.
The increase in revenue is a combination of increases in price and demand.
The average price increase varied across customer groups:
- The average price paid per small customer connection increased 8%. The average price per unit of electricity delivered to small customers increased around 5%.
- The average price per medium-sized customer was flat. The average price per unit of electricity delivered to medium-sized customers increased around 5%.
Demand growth on MainPower’s network was mixed. The number of small customer connections increased 2% while electricity consumption increased 5%. The number of medium and large customer connections increased 20%. Medium-sized customer electricity consumption grew around 15% and that of large customers increased 25%.
MainPower is a consumer owned trust and only subject to information disclosure regulation. MainPower may choose to re-distribute part of its revenue to its community owners or to community projects.
Recent trends in expenditure
Total operating expenditure grew by 8% per year over and above inflation. Most operating expenditure was not directly related to MainPower’s network.
Capital expenditure decreased in recent years. The largest component of capital expenditure in 2011 was system growth.
The forecasts of network operating expenditure increase over the coming years.
Capital expenditure forecasts have different trends between forecast rounds. This may reflect changes in actual business need, the uncertainty of scheduling projects in future periods and the opportunity to update forecasts in its Asset Management Plan annually
Recent trends in service reliability
The average duration of interruptions and the frequency of interruptions were both above the industry average in 2011, but below that from 2008 to 2010.
Full report
The full report of MainPower's performance from 2008 to 2011 can be downloaded below.
