Alliance wants to plug in state power

By Chris Daniels

The Alliance wants to bring back under the wing of state control all the electricity companies hived off by National over the past two years.

They would be run by a single trading enterprise, similar to a state-owned enterprise but with energy efficiency, not just profits, among its aims.

Alliance leader and energy spokesman Jim Anderton yesterday launched the party's energy policy at a Karangahape Rd cafe that lost money during last year's Auckland power blackout.

He blamed Government policies for the crisis, during which large sections of the central city were left without electricity after supply lines failed.

"The Auckland power crisis resulted directly from National and Act's failed power reforms," said Mr Anderton.

"Security of supply is a fundamental of the energy sector that National has completely ignored."

A centrepiece of the Alliance energy policy was the requirement on power companies to guarantee supply, making them liable for downstream costs of supply failure.

"Since the potential liability can be very high, there is an enormous incentive on supply companies to maintain equipment in premium condition," said Mr Anderton.

The energy policy of the Labour Party, the Alliance's likely coalition partner should it win enough votes to form a government, is much more cautious.

Labour would hold an inquiry into the power industry, with a possible reintegration of ECNZ.

Energy spokesman Pete Hodgson said that although the party expected that there would be price regulation of electricity lines firms, it would not be implemented while there was a dearth of information about company cost structures.

The National Government last year split up the state-owned electricity generator ECNZ into three new generator/energy trading companies.

Local power companies were forced to sell either their lines business or power retailing activities.

Enterprise and Commerce Minister Max Bradford then introduced a bill giving the Commerce Commission power to impose price controls on electricity line companies, but this was scuppered by opposition from Act, Labour, the Alliance and New Zealand First.

Act complained that the regulation was heavy-handed, while the other parties wanted electricity retail companies to be included.

Lines companies, which enjoy natural monopolies on business, have agreed among themselves not to increase prices until next July.

A Ministry of Commerce report last month was lauded by Mr Bradford as proof that breaking up the electricity companies had led to cheaper power prices.