Power bills in Heathcote will drop

Press, 6 February 1986, Page 7

Power bills in Heathcote will drop

Heathcote domestic consumers of the new Port Hills Energy Authority will receive a 3.2 per cent decrease in their power bills from April. Lyttelton consumers, however, will face a 2 per cent increase as the new authority marries the old Heathcote and Lyttelton charges into one system. The authority proposes to charge most of its consumers lower tariffs than those of the Christchurch Municipal Electricity Department. The authority met last evening and decided to recommend a standard domestic tariff of 4.85 c a unit. The M.E.D.’s charge will be 4.94 c.

The authority’s chairman, Cr Bob Simcock, said that combining the two councils into one supply authority had created potential savings which would offset the 4 per cent increase in bulk electricity charges. "The size and existing load patterns of Lyttelton and Heathcote is such that combining the consumption loads will result in

reductions in the cost of bulk power purchased from the Government,” he said. Studies showed that there would not be similar savings on a regional basis if the Port Hills authority amalgamated with the M.E.D. or other Canterbury authorities. “In fact, the efficiency and savings being achieved would evaporate and our consumers would be saddled with the costs of a much larger organisation,” he said. Lyttelton consumers would have the chance to switch to low-cost night tariffs introduced by the Heathcote County Council. Some non-domestic tariffs in both areas would stay the same while others would drop up to 15 per cent in Lyttelton and rise up to 5 per cent in Heathcote. Even if the Christchurch City Council trimmed its expected 7 per cent increase to 5 per cent, the Port Hills tariff would still be lower than the M.E.D.’s, he said.