We all need electricity to stay safe and healthy through winter. Whether it’s cooking meals to fill our bellies, making a loved one a cup of tea or turning a heater on to warm our children’s bedrooms at night, these are the things that help us get through winter.
However, people on low-incomes in Aotearoa can end up paying a premium to keep their electricity connected.
Last year more than 6,540 households had their power disconnected because they did not (or could not) pay their bills. Companies were then allowed to charge them a disconnection fee and reconnection fee, which can total up to $300, adding to that household’s debt.
Many customers with poor credit then end up with no alternatives but to use prepay electricity, which at times has cost up to 17% more than pay-monthly plans2. Households then have no choice but to sit without power because they can’t afford to top up. Data on these prepay disconnections is not even recorded.
And right now, despite knowing the outcomes, The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko – which writes rules for electricity companies – allows this to continue!
That is why we support Common Grace’s request to the Electricity Authority to protect people struggling with power prices by:
1. Banning disconnection and reconnection fees in case of unpaid bills.
2. Making prepay no more expensive than a retailer’s cheapest plan, and publish prepay disconnection data.
3. Introducing mandatory consumer protections.
There is still time to sign the petition! It is being handed over at Parliament on Wednesday 24 July.