Electricity and gas usage is metered, and companies bill their customers monthly. To find a list of electricity supply companies in Wellington, visit the Yellow Pages and search for "Electricity Supply Retail" in Wellington.
Many New Zealanders do their best to use electricity efficiently. You can learn more about ways to conserve electricity from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority website.
Some useful contacts for electricity or gas information:
Powerswitch is a free service run by Consumer New Zealand and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Using Powerswitch's comprehensive and regularly updated database of electricity and gas prices, you can compare plans and find the cheapest deal in your area.
A number of companies can set up your home phone service. There may be a phone in the house when you move in or you can buy one from an electronic goods shop or phone company. Pricing plans vary widely.
Mobile phone services are available from Telecom and Vodafone. Mobile phones are sold at electronic goods shops or specialist phone shops.
Public phones in town centres and suburban areas use pre-paid phone cards which are available from supermarkets, newsagents or local shops.
The main telephone service providers are:
Internet services
There are a number of internet providers offering broadband internet and dial-up plus a range of mobile and wireless services, including all of the telephone providers above. A list of internet providers in the Wellington region is available on the Yellow Pages website.
Hutt City Library customers can use library computers and access high-speed internet for only $2.00 an hour. Visit your local library for more information.
Television
In the Wellington region you can receive many free television channels including TV One, TV2, TV3, C4, Prime, Maori Television and Triangle Television.
More television channels are available through the pay television service offered by Sky and TelstraClear.
Freeview offers more channels through a decoder which can be purchased from electronic retailers. There is no television licence fee in New Zealand.
Useful local information – emergency preparedness, rubbish and recycling, leisure activities
Lower Hutt is located on or near several major earthquake fault lines. New Zealand has many fault lines and earthquake shaking can impact on regions hundreds of kilometres away.
Lower Hutt is also at risk of other natural hazards such as flooding, storms, tsunamis and wildfires. In the event of an emergency you will need to look after yourself for at least three days before the emergency services can reach you. Make sure that you have enough water and food stored for you and your family to be able to survive for a minimum of three days.
Some useful information about how to prepare for an emergency can be found at the ‘Get Thru’ website at or our Hutt Valley Emergency Management Office webpages.
Hutt City Council collects rubbish and recycling weekly on the kerbside throughout Hutt City suburbs. All rubbish and recycling must be in the official council rubbish bags. You can buy rubbish bags at the council, supermarkets and some local shops. Green recycling bins can be purchased at Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Rd, Lower Hutt.
For more information about rubbish and recycling visit the rubbish and recycling section of this website or get in touch with us.
Leisure activities
For a list of Hutt City aquatic facilities and other recreation and leisure activities, visit our recreation pages.
