The Government must provide leadership to tackle the electricity crisis, National's Tony Ryall and Pansy Wong said today.

"Industry participants have low expectations of this afternoon's electricity summit, particularly with Energy Minister, Pete Hodgson telling the 'Holmes' show on Wednesday night that even if he could do something, he wouldn't.

"The Government's power companies are profiteering from this crisis. These are extraordinarily extreme weather conditions. The Government's companies should pitch in and share the risk; real businesses in real markets don't kill their customers.

"What the Government should be doing is asking where is the profit going, and how much it is?

"Genesis says it is making marginally more money than last year. It is well-hedged, but somehow it has supply for On energy's North Island customers. Mighty River Power says it is having to buy a little power, while Meridian Energy says all its generation is hedged but, somehow, it has supply for On energy's South Island customers.

"Contact Energy, meanwhile, says it has a little surplus.

"There is not enough openness here. In an extreme situation like the one we're experiencing, the industry should be pulling together, not price gouging," Mr Ryall and Mrs Wong said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>