Very few people have the skills and training to safely handle electricity and oversee electrical repairs.  Because of this, it’s only natural for electrical professionals to charge high fees for their services.

As a means of helping you budget for these services, we’ve prepared this quick cost guide for various basic offerings.  To make things easier, we’ve also taken the liberty of adding resources pertaining to electricians, appliances, and the like.

Breaking Down Electrician Costs

Hourly Rates

All electricians will charge either a flat fee or an hourly rate depending on the type of job you request.  Hourly rates are usually higher if your electrician has more experience and by extension, more skills.

Alternatively, less experienced electricians will usually have more affordable hourly rates.  This can have its own drawbacks as a novice technician may end up taking longer to complete a job compared to a veteran electrician.  

From what we can gather, the average hourly rate among electricians in New Zealand is between $89.50 and $95.00.

Call-out Charges

Call out charges are essentially vehicle rates that help cover the cost of fuel when driving to and from a job site.  Along with this, most call-out charges also double as a labor charge since your electrician must devote time driving back and forth from your home.

Depending on how far your home is from a dispatch office, the cost of call-out charges can be between $25 and $60.  Almost all electricians will charge this fee, those that do not usually add an alternative fee or a higher hourly rate altogether

Rewiring

Rewiring a home is no small feat, especially for homes with 3 or 4 separate bedrooms and plenty of floor space.  Since most homes in need of rewiring are relatively old, their infrastructure can make jobs more difficult in the long run.

Because of this, rewiring costs are usually quite expensive with smaller jobs costing $6,000 and larger projects costing $10,000.  It is worth noting that if your house is relatively new you may actually end up paying a lower cost as modern homes tend to be easier to rewire.

Inspection Rates

Electrical inspections are usually offered for a flat fee instead of an hourly rate as inspections may take longer based on the specific property in question.  While the specifics may differ between companies, most inspections include wiring systems, switches, lights, and meters.

The average cost of electrical inspections is between $200 and $300.  Again, since many companies add extra points of inspection, the overall cost of this service will differ based on your electrician.

Keep in mind, most electricians are also capable of inspecting major appliances such as ACs, heat pumps, and washing machines.  This can ultimately help your electrician make recommendations on your appliances and how to optimize your energy consumption.

With the basics covered, we hope you’ll have an easier time budgeting for your next electrical job.  In the meantime, we’d recommend bookmarking this article so you’ll always have a good reference.