Source: Green Party
The Green Party is calling on the Government to use every tool they have as shareholding Ministers of the major gentailers to bring power bills down before winter, after new data shows tens of thousands more households can’t afford to keep warm.
“No New Zealander should be left in the cold and dark this winter while the Government’s own power companies are banking record profits,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.
In a letter to both Ministers, Swarbrick sets out the steps the Government can take immediately to keep whānau warm and connected this winter.
“The time for tough talk is over. Luxon’s Government have every tool they need to bring bills down. With winter weeks away, we’re asking they use those tools now.”
MBIE’s most recent energy hardship data shows 65,000 more households could not afford to keep their home adequately warm in the past year. 44,000 more could not pay their gas, electricity or water bills on time. 23,000 more were living with damp and mould as a major problem.
Compared to 2021, 100,000 more households now cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm, and 156,000 are putting up with feeling cold a lot to cut costs.
“Brown and Willis aren’t innocent bystanders to this hardship. They can use their powers as majority owners of the gentailers, or they’re choosing to keep power bills and profits high,” says Swarbrick.
The OECD last week recommended the Government put in place an ownership strategy that prioritises secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity over dividends, and warned that gentailer payout ratios are too high.
“This Government has the power, they have the data, and they have an OECD recommendation handed to them this week. The Greens are calling on them to act before winter sets in,” says Swarbrick.
Green Party energy spokesperson Scott Willis says the policy tools to bring bills down are already in place, and there is no excuse for delay heading into winter.
“The Ministers can write to the boards of Meridian, Genesis, and Mercury this week and require them to scale up their energy hardship programmes. As the controlling shareholder, there’s nothing stopping the Government from doing exactly that.”
“They can call on the gentailers not to raise retail prices higher than inflation. Households cannot keep absorbing rises like the 12 per cent we’ve just seen while the gentailers post hundreds of millions in profit.”
“No household should be disconnected from the network solely because they can’t afford their power bill. The Government can put that protection in place tomorrow,” says Willis.
Swarbrick says, “We’ve given the Government a plan to immediately reduce the cost-of-living and New Zealanders’ power bills. They either choose to use their power and act, or keep profits high by continuing to allow the fleecing of New Zealanders.”