Grey Power

Householders already struggling with their power bills will be shocked by their next one, because a savage price increase coincides with increased winter heating demand.

Household prices rose dramatically in the May quarter. The Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices shows a 5% price increase in the May quarter alone, compared to a 2% increase over the whole previous year.

The biggest increase came from Transpower’s charges. The worry is that the Commerce Commission has just approved very high Transpower charges, saying the increase can be spread out over a three-year period. So this quarter’s price increase is only the first of a series.

These recent and future price rises are simply unsustainable to people on low incomes or fixed incomes.

Families who cannot properly budget for their household expenses may find the frustrations come out sideways – whether as drink, family violence, gambling. Often, older people just suffer silently, cold, deprived, robbed of their enjoyment of life.

Unless regulatory settings change, people will go out on the streets protesting. The worst thing about asset sales is that they will lock in the present unfair power pricing.

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