NZ Household Electricity Costs Soar 177% Since 1999 Reforms

Household electricity costs in New Zealand have risen by around 177% since the 1999 reforms to the country's electricity industry, nearly twice the rate of inflation.

This staggering increase has left many consumers struggling to pay their bills, with a quarter of households reporting trouble paying their power bills in the last year, a 5% jump from the previous year.

The low-income families have been hit hardest, spending an average of 7.5% of their incomes on electricity, while middle-income households describe their bills as 'at best somewhat affordable', and even high-earners over $150,000 say they struggle to pay their power bills.

Consumer NZ has called for changes to the electricity market, saying individual behavior can only achieve so much, and that a redesign of the system around customers is needed. The organization points to four key factors contributing to high power bills: the dominance of the big four power companies, power prices not reflecting real costs, lack of investment in homegrown energy, and short-term politics and policy uncertainty.