Power costs not doubled say KCE

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 528, 22 March 1994, Page 7

Power costs not doubled say KCE

Claims that King Country Energy 's line charges have almost doubled over a year are not correct, according to general manager Peter Till. "This is the first time we have levied a line charge and it cannot be compared with the previous supply charges used prior to deregulation of the energy industry," said Mr Till. "People should compare their total power bills before making any judgements about whether or not they are paying too much," he said.

King Country Energy has some of the lowest overall tariffs in the country, currently being the lowest in the North Island for domestic customers and 10th lowest for non-domestic. Mr Till said the establishment of line charges came after a eomprehensive study of what it costs to provide the company 's network services, as part of the overall energy reform process. "Up until then, supply charges were set in a somewhat arbitrary fashion, based largely on what it was thought people would pay. "We now know exactly what the value of our network is and what it costs to maintain. This cost has been split into a fixed portion and a variable portion, paid according to the amount of energy used. The fixed portion does equate to a 10 percent rise on this part of the supply charge, but it is impossible to standardise the variable charge in this way." King Country Energy' s network operation must provide an appropriate return in order to protect the value of the shareholders' investment. KCE' s shareholders are the customers, represented by an elected trust.