Electricity demand is edging up but strong competition is keeping a lid on prices and could push them down this year.

The electricity sector has attracted a lot of attention in the past couple of weeks, both in the business pages and within the investment community itself.

Kiwi energy company Powershop is expanding its Australian market before targeting Europe and Asia next year.

Vector, the Auckland gas and electricity distribution monopoly, is in discussions with the Commerce Commission.

He spent 18 months without power after his electricity supplier refused to reconnect him after a storm. Now he's won an out-of-court settlement - and an apology.

Pakistan has been plunged into darkness after the breakdown of a key power transmission line in the southern part of the country.

Isis' vaunted exercise in state-building appears to be crumbling as living conditions deteriorate across the territories under its control.

The heartbroken mother of a man who died in a car crash while power lines prevented his rescue says she lies awake at night visualising his painful death.

A raft of new policies have been introduced in the wake of a fatal car crash in which a man died in front of rescuers eyes as they waited for power lines to be switched off.

Kim Campbell has organised a meeting this afternoon to discuss strategies to soften up Aucklanders for the sale of the remaining shares in lines company Vector to pay for new roads.

Pulse Energy reported a net loss of $9.99 million, or 2.9 cents per share, in the six months ended September 30.

Geothermal has pipped gas generation for the first time as more plants come on stream.

Power companies' margins on retail electricity tariffs are unsustainably high, says a new report on listed NZ electricity stocks.

New Zealand Carbon Farming, the country's largest supplier of post-1989 bulk carbon credits, is suing Mighty River Power for $34.7 million.

New Zealand producer input prices fell in the third quarter as lower farmgate milk prices reduced input costs for dairy manufacturers.

The unusual maneuver requires a level of cash and savvy that few mega-dealmakers could ever offer.

Power has now been restored to thousands of Auckland homes after an outage earlier this evening left them in the dark as stormy weather batters the city.

If I were running Mercury, I'd regard people like myself as perfect customers, writes Brian Rudman.

Call me a Luddite, but I don't want a "smart" electricity meter installed at home, and certainly not without my knowledge or consent.