More discounts for KC Electricity customers

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 675, 25 February 1997, Page 7

More discounts for KC Electricity customers

King Country Energy has announced that there will be another discount for most electricity customers similar to last year's leap-year discount. The discount will be equivalent to the cost of about three weeks of electricity usage. King Country Energy' s general manager, Peter Till, said that the discount was slightly less than last year but would still be a significant bonus for the company's customers. "Like many of our local businesses, King Country Energy suffered from the eruption which reduced saies in the ski resort areas by about one third." "Naturally this impacted on the company's revenue during the peak season for electricity saies which has reduced our surplus available for distribution to our customers." Mr Till said the discount reflected the company's commitment to ensure that its local customers continue to have a reliable and efficient electricity supply which is amongst the most competitively priced in New Zealand. The total value of the discount is about $506,000 including the GST component. "Our discount will mean that we are effectively putting over half a million dollars extra into people's pockets as additional disposable income." Mr Till said. Mr Till said the discount would be distributed in the same way as last year. While the exact amount of each customer 's discount will not be known until after 28 February, customers who receive a regular bill from King Country Energy will see a line on their bill which indicates the special discount they

The amount of the discount will be based on the value of the electricity they have purchased during the past year. People who use meter cards will receive a letter from the company which will entitle them to a discount when they next purchase their meter cards. Mr Till said the discount was available in spite of increased capital expenditure during the year.The company completed a programme of undergrounding a number of previously overhead lines in both Taumarunui and Turangi. "This too is a major contribution by the company to the environmental apsects of electricity supply in our communities and has been carried out as part of our involvement with the community and the Main Street programmes in Taumarunui and Turangi", Mr Till said. Mr Till said the discount did not apply to bulk electricity customers. "The Trust and the Company gave very careful consideration to this and felt that electricity prices for bulk customers had fallen over recent years which provided a built-in discount through the price." "We only have a relatively small amount of money available for the discount and if it was applied to bulk customers it would be spread too thinly to be worthwhile to the rest of our customers." . Mr Till said the company aimed to keep its prices competitive for all customers.