Householders face an extra $5.20 a month on power bills after lines company Orion won Commerce Commission approval for price rises of 9.2 per cent from 2014.

This equates to an increase of $5.20 per month for a typical household, less than the $8.50 sought by Orion.

Further annual increases equivalent to inflation will be allowed by Orion until 2019, under the draft Commerce Commission decision.

This is less than Orion sought in its proposal of 15 per cent rise in 2014 - or $8.50 per month to a typical household customer - with inflation plus 1.2 percent rises subsequent years until 2019.

Today's announcement comes after the Commerce Commission received a proposal from Orion for a customised price-quality path (CPP) on February 20.

This CPP differs from the pricing path Orion would normally take but takes into account Orion's extraordinary circumstances following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

Orion has proposed to increase its maximum average prices and reduce its required quality standards over the five years commencing April 1 2014.

But the Commerce Commission has curtailed some elements in Orion's proposal.

Orion is seeking to recover additional costs, lower than expected revenues, and to fund future investment in its network.

Commerce Commission deputy chair Susan Begg said the commission had considered how the long-term benefit of consumers can be best met by assessing service reliability and costs.

"We understand Orion's long-standing vision to return its network to its pre-earthquake reliability performance and build a more resilient network for the future benefit of its customers. However, this needs to be balanced against the size of the price increase those customers pay."

Begg said put simply, the commission considered Orion's customised pricing proposal as asking for ''too much, too soon''.

The Commission agreed Orion should be allowed to recover most of the additional operating and capital costs it incurred in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

''We have allowed Orion more income to cater for changes in demand and to recover future higher costs caused by the earthquakes, but the full level of expenditure Orion has sought is not supported with sufficient evidence in its proposal," Begg said.

Interested parties can review the draft decision and make submissions prior to the final determination by November 29.

Orion chief executive Rob Jamieson the company would have to work though the detail of the Commission's proposal to understand the implications for Orion and the community.

"The Commission has spent six months reviewing the proposal we submitted in February and we now have six weeks to respond to what is effectively a counter-proposal from the Commission.''

Jamieson said Orion was the first company to go through this regulatory process. ''So it's a steep learning curve for all involved and is in parallel to the work we are doing in the field as part of the Canterbury rebuild."

What did seem clear from the commission's draft decision is that Orion's electricity distribution prices would be set around mid-range for New Zealand electricity networks.

At the same time, the company would need to undertake a significant rebuild programme as well as its ''business as usual'' work in a more costly environment, Jamieson added.

"Ultimately, it is Orion who has the responsibility to provide essential electricity infrastructure and who needs to supply an acceptable level of service to residents and businesses,'' he said.

''It's important that the commission's final decision doesn't constrain the pace of the Canterbury rebuild nor compromise the levels of electricity network reliability and resilience that our community wants,'' Jamieson said.

Significant risks from events such as earthquakes have not disappeared, he noted.

''The ability to respond effectively to major events to prevent power outages remains central to the value Orion provides to its community.''

Changes to Orion prices and quality standards will affect electricity consumers in the company's network area, which is bordered by the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers and stretches from the Southern Alps to Banks Peninsula.