Electricity profits soar as Kiwis struggle to meet the bills

Alliance Party media release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday 6 June 2007

As New Zealand braces for a predicted cold snap, the Alliance Party has attacked out of control electricity price hikes that are leaving families struggling to pay the power bill.

Alliance electricity spokesperson Ian Tinkler says Kiwis are going cold so power companies can boost profits – and he has the statistics to back it up.

Statistics New Zealand today released the latest New Zealand Energy Statistics, which show that household consumers have experienced another electricity price increase this quarter, up 1.4 percent compared with the December 2006 quarter, and up 6.8 percent compared with the previous March quarter.

Alliance Party energy spokesperson Ian Tinkler looked further and made the startling discovery that in the 5 years from March 2002 to March 2007 the price of electricity paid by household increased by more than triple the rate of inflation.

He says inflation for the last 5 years ran at 13.3 percent while the cost of electricity rose 43.0%.

"Under the current system, it's not surprising electricity retailers have increased profits dramatically over the last few years."

Mr Tinkler says the predominantly Australian owned Contact Energy profit after tax was $281 million in their 2006 annual report compared to $131 million in 2001.

State owned enterprise Mighty River Power’s profit before tax was $101 million in their 2006 annual report compared to $59 million in 2001.

"How have these and the other companies made the extra profit? By charging us more for our power. The power is still being generated from the dams the people of New Zealand built and paid for."

He says Mighty River and other state owned companies were set up so a future National Party government can sell them off.

Mr Tinkler says the Alliance wants to put electricity under a public, democratic and accountable system with the primary goal of providing power that everyone can afford, produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

ENDS

http://www.alliance.org.nz

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