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Government Power Prices Rip-Off Ashburton
Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
Member
of Parliament for Northland
19 DECEMBER 2016
Government Power Prices Rip-Off
Ashburton
New Zealand First is calling on new Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins to act over Ashburton facing average power price increases of $226 p.a.
“With average connection costs in the Electricity Ashburton area set to increase by $226, the new Minister needs to exercise her Section 18 powers and review the Electricity Authority’s Transmission Pricing Methodology,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Winston Peters.
“As $226 represents just an average increase larger electricity users, like farmers and the processors they supply, will pay a lot more.
“These hikes are about making consumers pay for what Transpower has already built, then making them underwrite generator dividends and subsidising Australia’s Rio Tinto.
“The Electricity Authority is a Wellington-based
bureaucracy with 43 staff on over $100,000, a CEO earning
over $7,000 per-week and a Chairman on $252,000. As such
the new energy Minister’s first job should be to reign
this bloated authority in and force them to reconnect with
the needs of ordinary businesses and consumers,” says Mr
Peters.
ENDS
| Local lines company | Who is affected | What the cost is today | What the Electricity Authority and Government want | Percent increase | Average* increase per ICP | |
| Ashburton | Ashburton | $ 3,600,000 | $ 7,900,000 | 119% | $ 226.28 | |
| Northpower | Whangarei and Kaipara districts | $ 12,800,000 | $ 19,400,000 | 52% | $ 116.30 | |
| Top Energy | Kaitaia, Kerikeri and Kaikohe | $ 3,800,000 | $ 6,000,000 | 58% | $ 70.04 | |
| Vector | Auckland and Northshore | $ 178,800,000 | $ 238,100,000 | 33% | $ 176.68 | |
| Horizon | Whakatane and Eastern Bay of Plenty | $ 3,200,000 | $ 7,000,000 | 119% | $ 155.04 | |
| Westpower | Greymouth | $ 1,600,000 | $ 3,700,000 | 131% | $ 157.40 | |
| * This is an average and the larger the power use the higher the charge will be. |
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