Source: Radio New Zealand
The Electricity Authority is set to launch a new power bill comparison website. 123RF
The electricity market regulator will launch a new power bill comparison website next month, in a bid to ensure the industry better serves consumers.
It is one of many changes being made after a spike in electricity prices last year led to a government review of the market.
In 2024, a spot price shock saw households and businesses face increases of between 10 and 15 percent on their power bills, which was a factor in the shutdown of several industrial businesses across the country.
Electricity Authority chief executive Sarah Gillies said a new power comparison website would be launched next month with the authority also considering rules to simplify bills so that they were easier for consumers to understand.
It also wanted to see more companies offering plans with lower prices during off-peak hours and electricity regulators sharing power use data, so consumers could automate their electricity use if they wanted to.
“Last year we made a decision that we needed to see the large retailers offering time-of-use plans, there was a sense that some were doing it, but not everybody … so that’s a requirement for everybody over a certain size to do that from July this year.”
In January, the government announced the retail electricity sector as the next industry to be considered under the Customer and Product Data Act.
Known as open electricity, it would simplify the ability to compare the electricity needs of a household or small businesses against every power plan on the market.
Last year, the government established a Consumer Data Right – a legal framework to let people access, share, and manage certain data, like transaction history, with trusted third parties through secure digital systems – with the hope of creating greater choice, convenience, and innovation.
Gillies said the authority was working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on a framework that detailed what information should be shared, and how.
“Data is absolutely critical … and the bottom line is it belongs to consumers, it’s about them.”
Previously, power companies had been reluctant to release data, despite it belonging to the consumer.
Gillies said the Power Build comparison website was due to be launched next month, replacing the Power Switch in a bid to help consumers ensure they are getting the best deal. It had been built using two years’ worth of data from 30,000 households and would no longer be funded by power companies being charged a fee every time a consumer switched, she said.
“You can either use your own power bill or you can answer some questions about your household and how you use your power and those two options will give you some choices.”
She said there would be information to help people understand time of use pricing, an electricity tariff structure where rates vary based on the time of consumption, charging higher prices during “peak demand” hours and lower prices during “off-peak” times.
The government is still working through potential legislation as a result of reforms in the industry.
Gillies said 35 rule changes had been made in the last two years, which showed a “constant strengthening” of the rules that govern the system.
“We have this incredible privilege to write the rules of the electricity industry, secondary legislation,” Gillies said.
The maximum penalty for a breach of the rules is currently $2 million, with a proposal to increase it to $10m or three times the commercial gain or 10 percent of a company’s turnover.
“That’s quite important because that’s much more akin to the kinds of penalties that you see with the FMA and the Commerce Commission.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
