Mr Peter Rutledge, Grey Power spokesperson on Energy, has today commented on the public reaction to domestic electricity prices. "At last we are seeing public reaction to the excessive profiteering that is going on with domestic electricity pricing. Grey Power has been pointing this out to Government for the last six years or more."

"The increases that have been imposed by the Generators and Retailers have been done without any valid reason. Repeated attempts to get information on the reasons for the increases have been ignored by the retailers. It is definitely a case for close scrutiny by the Commerce Commission."

"Price increases have been raised well over the rate of inflation. As an example: in the Tasman Network area, retail prices have gone up 19% per year since 2006. It is proven that these rises are not as a result of increased line charges by the network company."

"Government continues to ignore the detrimental effect these prices are having on the health of the nation. People, such as the elderly, simply cannot keep themselves properly warm in winter. This has been well substantiated by research carried out by the Otago School of Medicine at Wellington Hospital."

"It is no good the industry bleating about low return on assets because it is well known that the assets are grossly overvalued. It is time for the Government to take notice of the alternative to the Low User Tariff that Grey Power is promoting, together with other improvements that can be made to the present system."

ENDS

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