68 percent of people think power company profits are unreasonably high, only 15 percent think they are reasonable

Nearly half of New Zealanders are more concerned about their power bills than they were a year ago

63 percent think the Government isn’t doing enough to bring down power prices while nearly half would support them breaking up the retail and generation arms of the big power companies to increase competition.

Polling done by Curia for Octopus Energy shows over two thirds of people think power company profits are unreasonably high, and want to see the Government do more to bring down record power prices, including breaking up their generation and retail arms.

47 percent of New Zealanders are more concerned about their power bills than they were a year ago, while only 11 percent are less concerned.

The poll also found New Zealanders want to see more action from the Government, with 63 percent of respondents saying the Government isn’t doing enough to bring down electricity prices.

And there’s evidence that kiwis are up for changes to bring about more competition with 45 percent of respondents expressing support for separating out the generation and retail arms of the big electricity companies, with 38 percent unsure and only 17 percent disagreeing.

“These numbers are significant. Winter may be over but people are still concerned about their power bills and the impact on the economy,” says Octopus Energy Chief Operating Officer Margaret Cooney.

“People understand that the current electricity market isn’t working and the big power companies are making big profits. They want something done about it and they’re seeing structural change as the solution.

“A shortage of new generation has forced some big regional industries to restrict their production through winter, while high prices have forced some big local employers out of New Zealand completely.

“To fix the underlying challenge of continuing high prices we need more robust competition and the separation of the retail and generation arms of the power companies, as is the case in the United Kingdom, is the best option on the table for the Government to increase competition.

“New Zealand’s electricity sector has for too long been dominated by the four main companies who control the market.

“They not only generate electricity but also operate retail arms. They are able to manage their pricing between the two arms and create a barrier to entry for new generators and retailers.

“Independent retailers are effectively squeezed out, and potential generators can’t get their investments off the ground unless they do a deal with an existing gentailer, because there are few independent retailers to sell to.

“Simple changes to our regulatory and market settings to promote more competition will spur a much needed wave of investment in generation, and smarter systems that will drive down electricity prices.

“There is already a successful case study of this kind of separation in New Zealand with the split of Telecom into Spark and Chorus.

“That move led to new telco retailers entering the market offering new products and competitive prices. Achieving the same outcome for electricity would be less disruptive because the functions have already been effectively split - it just requires new rules to make pricing fair for every company in the market,” says Margaret Cooney.

Notes:

Poll questions and answers below, if you would like a copy of the results please get in touch.

Over winter was your power bill less of a concern than this time last year, no more or less a concern or more of a concern than last year? (If they say more or less, ask it is much more/less or somewhat more/less

47% of respondents are more concerned over their power bills than a year ago, 11% less concerned and 35% the same level of concern.

Do you think the profits being made by electricity companies are reasonable, or do you think they are unreasonably high?

68% of respondents think the profits being made by electricity companies are unreasonably high and only 15% think they are reasonable.

Do you think the government is doing enough to bring down electricity prices?

63% of respondents don’t think the Government is doing enough to bring down electricity prices

Do you think competition would be improved if the Government broke up the electricity gentailers (Meridian, Contact, Genesis and Mercury) by requiring them to separate their electricity generation and retail arms?

45% of respondents support separating out generation and retail arms of electricity companies, with only 17% opposed and 38% unsure.

© Scoop Media