David Shearer
Labour Leader

11 July 2013

Power bills up $50 in last three months

“John Key’s defence of the status quo in the electricity sector is increasingly laughable, given the rate prices are rising at,” says Labour Leader David Shearer.

The latest Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices shows that in just the last three months power prices have risen by 2.2 per cent, which means the average household power bill has risen by $49.34 a year.

“Today’s data just confirms what every New Zealander already knew – electricity prices are out of control. How does John Key expect people to afford to heat their houses in winter when prices are rising by almost $50 a year in just three months?

“Since John Key became Prime Minister in November 2008, prices have risen by 22.8 per cent while his government has sat by and watched.

“He’s so out of touch he doesn’t even think there’s a problem. Just last week he told Parliament:

“I think that they [Kiwi consumers] are paying a price which is cognisant and fair in relation to the environment we find ourselves in…”

“Well today’s data makes that claim look plain silly. John Key and his Energy Minister Simon Bridges must be just about the only people in the country who think electricity prices aren’t too high.

“And this government has made matters even worse by demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends from Transpower, so that it has to load up the cost of infrastructure upgrades and pass them on to consumers.

“We need a hands-on government that’s prepared get stuck in and back Kiwi families and businesses. Labour’s NZ Power plan will tackle the ever increasing cost of electricity. We’ll cut the average household power bill by hundreds of dollars a year and restrict future price rises,” says David Shearer.

ENDS

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