Central Otago residents will experience planned energy bill increases after Aurora Energy’s infrastructure upgrade plans were accepted by the Commerce Commission yesterday. 

Mayor Tim says Central Otago will pay far more than Dunedin and it will continue to be seen as morally wrong by many in the community, but it needs to be remembered that addressing that imbalance does not lie with the Commerce Commission.  

“When the Electricity Authority declined earlier this year to balance the cost increases evenly across the three self-defined areas of the Aurora network, that battle was effectively lost,” Mayor Tim says. 

As to the next stage, Mayor Tim says there is still a fight to be fought and that lies with accountability to ensure Aurora does what it says it is planning to do when it says it will do it and at the price it is allowed under the CPP.  

“The Commerce Commission talks of yearly community reporting by Aurora to the community.  

“I have emphasised with the Commission today my belief that this would be a waste of time if the Commission is not in the room to assist the community in understanding what we are being told by Aurora.  

“There is no point in avoiding the fact that there is little trust in the community toward the company and that the complexity of power transmission makes understanding what we are being told by the company virtually impossible for the lay-person.  

“We need the mana and independence of the Commission sitting alongside the community as Aurora reports back.  

“The Commission has come under stern criticism for not taking action during the many years of under-investment and it is my strong belief that, through the course of the CPP and beyond, the Commission needs to be a watchdog not asleep in its kennel but straining at the end of its chain ensuring what we are paying for is delivered and we get the secure network we should have always had.

“There is an opportunity for the public to submit on reporting provisions and I encourage the public of Central Otago to do so.”

The regulator is seeking feedback on these measures before it makes a final decision, which is due

on 31 August.

The full reasons paper detailing the Commerce Commission’s decision, supporting material, and the draft decision on additional disclosure measures is available at www.comcom.govt.nz/aurora. 

Submissions on the draft decision on additional disclosure measures will be open until 10 May 2021.