Power price up 32pc in 5 years

Power prices increased 32.4 per cent between 2000 and 2005, Parliament heard yesterday.

National's energy spokesman, Nick Smith, asked Energy Minister David Parker why that had happened when the increase between 1995 and 2000 - before Labour came to power - was 14 per cent.

Mr Parker said the main reason was Maui gas running out.

It had artificially suppressed the price of power because the price of Maui gas, which set the market price of electricity, increased at half the rate of inflation.

Because there was a need for more gas exploration, it was necessary to remove the price controls, he said.

Asked about the plight of pensioners facing huge power bills, Mr Parker said the Government had increased the superannuation rate since it came to office and "vastly increased" the criteria for rates rebates.

Welfare agencies say soaring electricity bills have hit hard.

Jim Lamb, co-ordinator for the Beneficiaries Advisory Service, said the full effect of soaring electricity prices would begin to seriously effect people on low incomes from next month.

Welfare organisations were discussing how to deal with the predicted increased debt and the increase in the number of disconnections for people unable to meet the costs of living.

Christchurch pensioner Helen Louisson, 86, lives alone in a three-bedroom, "relatively modern" townhouse. Her windows are double-glazed, her water is solar-heated and she goes to bed at 8pm.

In the past two months, she has used underfloor heating in two rooms of her house, on overnight timers to take advantage of the lower rate.

Her July power bill from Empower was $504.10. Her June bill was $449. Her May bill was $83.

"It's a bit of a joke," she said, of the two-month jump of $421.

"When I rang them, they explained the large bill was because the underfloor heating hadn't been used in a while and it took a lot of power to heat through the concrete."

- NZPA