New transmission pricing unfair on Aucklanders
Auckland mayoral candidate Phil Goff has slammed electricity transmission proposals which would add on average $190 a
year to each Aucklander’s electricity bills. He says they are unfair and unwarranted.
The Electricity Authority is currently consulting on its proposed Transmission Pricing Methodology. If it proceeds, it
will apply new pricing to existing and new grid assets. Our costs will go up while South Island generators and major
industrial customers will have their costs slashed, Phil Goff said.
“At the moment transmission costs are shared equally across the country. Under new proposals, regions furthest from the
generators will pay more for the costs of maintaining and adding to the electricity grid.
“Auckland households, along with low income households in Northland and the West Coast, will face large hikes in their
annual electricity costs. Auckland consumers would, on average, experience a 37 percent increase in the transmission
costs in their electricity bills. Large generators like Meridian and Contact, and large corporates like Fonterra and Rio
Tinto, will increase their profits by millions of dollars.
“New Zealand’s electricity generation was the product of investment by the government - on behalf of all taxpayers- over
many decades. We shared the costs equally so we should share the benefits equally too.
“The new pricing model ignores the inequality it would create. Communities close to large generation projects already
enjoy many economic benefits in terms of added employment and income.
“Under the proposal, Auckland will collectively lose $78 million. Meanwhile Meridian’s shareholders will benefit by
around $57 million, Contact’s by $16 million and Rio Tinto will be $20 million winners. Households in Auckland,
Northland and the West Coast will be paying for the increased shareholder value of Meridian, Contact and Rio Tinto.
“This will see a wealth transfer from those least able to afford it - low income communities in Auckland and Northland,
for example – to large, wealthy corporates. The Government should reject the Electricity Authority’s proposal.”
ENDS