Power consumers say they feel gouged
Consumer confidence in the electricity industry has hit a new low, according to a poll conducted for the Electricity Authority.
Only 41 per cent of consumers gave the industry a score of more than ‘‘five out of 10’’, when asked whether they thought the electricity market ensured power was generated and supplied efficiently.
The response was the most negative since the authority began polling consumers in 2011.
Barely a quarter of respondents broadly agreed that the current level of competition between electricity retailers ensured the prices they paid only rose in line with electricity companies’ costs.
There was equal scepticism that the market ensured the right mix of power stations would be built in time to meet growing demand for power.
‘‘Performance of the electricity industry across all six key aspects tested dropped from the highs in 2017,’’ pollster UMR said.
The survey was conducted in March and the results were written up the following month – prior to the Government announcing its response to the electricity price review it commissioned in 2018.
But UMR’s findings were only published by the Electricity Authority on Tuesday. The authority said it did not intentionally delay publication.
Spokesman Grant Benvenuti said it intended to publish results as soon as it could ‘‘but sometimes our internal processes take longer due to competing priorities’’.
There was a similar lag to the authority publishing the results of its survey in 2017.
Energy Minister Megan Woods announced some changes to the way industry would work in October, including a ban on ‘‘winbacks’’ to ensure large electricity retailers don’t wait until customers start to shop around before offering them better pricing.
Woods also indicated she would instruct the Electricity Authority and Commerce Commission to have regard to the Government’s objectives for more ‘‘energy sector innovation’’ – a nod towards climate change concerns.
However, she rejected calls for a deeper restructure of the industry, for example by separating generators from retailers or undoing former National energy minister Max Bradford’s marketoriented reforms.
The Electricity Retailers Association (ERA) noted that while the UMR survey showed ‘‘a fall in some measures’’ since the survey in 2017, the analysis noted that was mostly due to respondents giving neutral or unsure responses. Its members include the ‘‘big five’’ gentailers – Contact Energy, Genesis, Mercury, Meridian and Trustpower.
Just under two-thirds of those polled gave electricity retailers a score of more than 5 out of 10 when asked if they were competitive, which was a better result than for banks and petrol companies.
‘‘We have one of the world’s leading energy systems in terms of price, resilience and sustainability, with the 10th cheapest electricity in the OECD and a very reliable supply of electricity,’’ chief executive Cameron Burrows said.
‘‘That is partly down to abundant natural resources and it is also a result of a well-functioning electricity market that fosters competition and innovation.’’