Residential power bills, each typically assumed to cover about 8000 kilowatt hours of consumption annually, would have jumped from $1088 to $2144 over the period.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says low retail electricity prices during the 1980s was partly to blame for the hike.
"In the early 1980s New Zealand had one of the lowest retail power prices in the OECD," a spokesman says.
"Low cost hydro generation built in the preceding decades and a small population," meant relatively cheap prices.
"Since then overall demand has grown, and more expensive energy sources have needed to be accessed to generate electricity."
And while homeowners bemoan their ever-growing power bills, the price of New Zealand's electricity now falls mid-range among OECD nations.
Despite this, regulation of the industry remains an ongoing point of contention for policy makers.
Electricity industry reforms throughout the 1990s and 2000s - which were promoted by governments of the day to rein in the domestic power market - have made little difference to consumers.
Reports last winter of desperate elderly residents refusing to heat their homes due to high power costs, choosing instead to stay in bed for warmth, highlight the power woes affecting many cash-strapped consumers.
Huge power bills have also forced some families to cut down on food and other essentials. Community advocates say needy households have trimmed supermarket bills to the bare minimum - resorting to cheap, unhealthy foods options on their tight budgets.
And as another winter looms, the Labour Party, in cooperation with the Greens, are the latest political heavyweights to offer a potential solution to spiralling power prices.
Their proposal to introduce a single government-controlled wholesale electricity buyer, should they be elected to power in the 2014 election, would set prices for generator companies - replacing the current wholesale spot market model.
Households could expect to save as much as $300 each year under the model, the parties say. Nationally, our total power bill would reduce by $700 million annually.
Around 1.7 million residential customers, many of whom will be taking to the polling booths next year, would be directly affected.
Major players in the power industry and their shareholders - as well as the current National government - also have a lot at stake.
The proposal would effectively end the big power companies' ability to set wholesale electricity prices.
New Zealand's five major power generators - Contact Energy, Genesis Power, Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power and Trustpower - produce about 94 per cent of the country's electricity.
These five power generators, through their respective retail arms, also have the lion's share of the consumer market.
Labour and the Greens say introducing a government-controlled agency to set wholesale electricity prices would pool the "buying power of consumers to drive harder bargains" with power companies.
Power companies, which currently enjoy no regulatory cap on the wholesale prices they set for retailers, would charge a price set by the New Zealand Power agency.
This price would be a "fair return" based on a generator's operating costs and historical capital costs, Labour says.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says it will "relegate excessive power profits at all costs to the past" and pass savings onto Kiwi consumers.
Since 2010, over one million Kiwis hoping to find better electricity rates have switched power companies. Numbers were boosted by the 2010 launch of the What's My Number campaign - which aims to match consumer usage levels with low-cost electricity contracts.
Massive power company profits and generous remuneration levels have been a contentious point for many New Zealanders battling rising electricity costs.
Mighty River Power alone made net profits of $17.6 million for the six months to December 2012.
Meanwhile, reported salary figures for the last financial year show power company bosses were each earning more than $1 million a year at four of the largest electricity companies.
These include chief executive officers at Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Mighty River Power and Transpower. Remuneration information for the head of Meridian Energy was unavailable.
Furthermore, over $1 million was made in board payments at Contact Energy and Transpower for the year. Meridian Energy, Genesis Energy and Mighty River Power payments were slightly less, ranging from $430,000 to $650,000.
A breakdown of salaries also revealed nearly 1000 staff between the five companies earning above $100,000.
Victoria University researcher Geoff Bertram, senior associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy, says significant savings could be made under the Labour-Green proposal.
He estimates power bill savings of over $1 billion a year could be achieved without undermining the industry's ability to supply electricity. "But, you've got to do it right", he warns.
However, fallout from the proposal has already caused widespread discontent.
Contact Energy shares immediately fell 6 per cent following the proposal's announcement. One industry research firm also warned the value of Mighty River Power shares could drop by up to 70 cents.
The National government, which likened the plan to a Soviet-era intervention on the power market, were forced last week [22/04] to amend the Mighty River Power share offer and issue a withdrawal option for committed investors. It warned about the potential risk should a Labour-Green government sweep to power.
Mr Bertram says any market model attempting to lower electricity prices is risky for power companies. As a result, potential investors in Mighty River Power may need to reconsider where they direct their savings.
"If electricity prices don't stay high" the value of power companies decline dramatically, he warns.
The Labour-Green reform, if executed correctly, could pave the way for new electricity policies, Mr Bertram says.
The proposal should break the "stranglehold" and open the way for more renewable energy and increased competition.
For example, New Zealanders who use solar panels should have the option to claim back electricity generated at home.
"It's standard overseas - they've been doing it for decades. New Zealand still isn't there. You can't put a solar panel on your roof and run the meter backwards - it's nuts." Tighter regulation of generator companies could push these technological changes along, Mr Bertram says.
