FinCap Submission on Improving Consumer Access and Choice Issues paper

No one should face issues accessing the electricity they need for health, wellbeing and social participation. All households should have access to a post-pay electricity contract at a fair price and strong minimum standards for their retailer’s assistance towards maintaining ongoing essential access when they can’t pay.  

The Electricity Authority and other relevant decision makers need to urgently act to ensure everyone has initial and ongoing access to essential 
electricity services first, then work through necessary adjustments to our electricity market that are needed as a consequence. 

FinCap welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Electricity Authority’s Improving Consumer Access and Choice Issues Paper (Issues Paper).

We support work to improve access to electricity. However, work to make sure everyone can access electricity needs more urgency given our most recent Voices report findings that whānau are increasingly facing difficulty paying for essentials.

Whānau who have struggled to get housing and will struggle to pay to keep 
housing should not then struggle further to turn on the heater, safely and efficiently store food, and have a warm shower.

Recent Reserve Bank of New Zealand analysis attempting to quantify the wellbeing benefits of an accessible cash system need application across to this other, perhaps more vital, essential service.

The Electricity Authority should also consider potential benefits if initial and ongoing access to essential electricity services increases trust. This could lead to stronger engagement with available supports and stronger engagement with incentives to pursue residential electricity supply arrangements that help the system function.

Analysis of social cohesion in Aotearoa shows a record low in people trusting government to do the right thing.

This likely reflects community discourse, sometimes heard by financial mentors and FinCap, about the appeal of living without connection to the electricity system and using residential generation technology to ‘islandise’ because whānau do not want to keep paying ever increasing power bills.

You can read FinCap''s full submission here: