Genesis admits Fair Trading Act breach

By CHRIS DANIELS

State-owned power company Genesis has admitted misleading new customers about how much they would pay for its electricity.

Genesis and its contracting firm, Source Distribution, have both admitted to the Commerce Commission that they broke the law when trying to sign new customers in Wellsford last year.

Source Distribution was able to convince 141 Wellsford residents to sign up with Genesis, but they all ended up paying higher rates than they were initially promised.

Source quoted Genesis prices to the Wellsford residents based on prices for the Whangarei/Northland region.

Wellsford was, in fact, part of greater Waitemata, and the Waitemata prices were higher than those quoted.

As well as admitting breaching the Fair Trading Act, both Genesis and Source have agreed to send a written apology to all the 141 customers and take out two corrective advertisements in a local paper.

Feature: Electricity

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority