Source: Radio New Zealand
Supplied / Genesis Energy
Genesis Energy cannot guarantee its customers won’t receive further price increases this year.
It comes as customers are told their electricity prices will increase at the end of March.
The company has also just revealed a massive bump in profit.
On Monday, Genesis said its half-year net profit ending 31 December was $95 million, compared to $70m the previous year.
Chief executive Malcolm Johns. Supplied / Genesis Energy / © Brett Phibbs / PhibbsVisuals Limited
Chief executive Malcolm Johns said increased hydro-generation across the country allowed it to buy cheaper electricity on the wholesale market, divert gas towards industrial customers, and reduce expensive coal and gas-fired generation at Huntly.
That resulted in the company posting record operating earnings.
Johns then told Newstalk ZB there were no plans “in the immediate future” for price increases, but customers have received letters as recently as Saturday advising them of just that.
Genesis Energy chief revenue officer Stephen England-Hall told Checkpoint there were price changes happening at the end of March – but Johns was talking about price increases “beyond what is already in circulation”.
Despite Johns saying there wouldn’t be any, England-Hall said he couldn’t guarantee there would be no further price increases in 2026.
Where the majority of customers would see an increase of between 10 and 20 percent in their bill, some would see an increase of 30 percent.
Stephen England-Hall. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
England-Hall said “no one was very happy or thrilled” about price increases but inflation was driving it and it was beyond their control.
“Over the last few years we’ve had price increases that we’ve tried to hold.
“Since 2021, which some of us will try to forget, but 2021 until today, price increases have tried to be managed relatively efficiently and effectively, we’ve tried to not pass through full inflation costs to customers because we know that things have been challenging.”
England-Hall said he believed Genesis was a fair offer in the market and data showed it was in the middle of the market with some companies cheaper, some more expensive.
“I do believe we are a fair proposition,” he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
