Power pain: Two-thirds of electricity consumers worried about their bills

Electricity costs are weighing heavily on households and small businesses, with affordability a top concern as further price increases loom.

A survey by the Consumer Advocacy Council found 67 percent of residential - up from 65 percent in 2023 and 58 percent in 2022.

Nearly half of households and more than a third of small businesses were also finding it harder to pay their bills compared to a year ago.

The report interviewed 1000 households and 500 businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

Council chairperson Deborah Hart said with further price increases likely due to regulated changes and inflation pressures, the government must look into the affordability of power.

"We're not convinced that the competitive model that we have is fit for purpose now. There needs to be investigation around the vertical separation of gentailers - those big companies that are generating and retailing," Hart said.

"We should be investigating separating renewables from non-renewables in the market."

The survey also showed consumers found the electricity market harder to navigate, as retailers bundled power with other services, such as broadband.

"One in four consumers who have bundled plans said they didn't know if they were getting a good deal. One in 10 actually discovered that their costs had increased," Hart said.

One in five residential consumers and small businesses were confident the market would deliver better value for money in the next five years, similar to 2022 and 2023.

The survey also showed a third of consumers who thought of switching to another retailer did not find enough savings to make the switch.

"New Zealand's approach has relied heavily on promoting switching to drive competition and better prices for consumers, but evidence shows switching rates remain relatively low," Hart said.

It was the last published work from the Consumer Advocacy Council, which would soon be disbanded after last month's Budget cancelled its funding.