Northland lines' companies Northpower and Top Energy are supporting a legal challenge to an Electricity Authority proposal that would see an increase in power charges of nearly $300 per household in the region.
Power generator Trustpower has filed papers in the High Court at Wellington for a judicial review of the consultation process the authority used in a review of how the national grid was paid for.
The authority sought public feedback on changes to the way transmission costs are charged by Transpower, which wants to recover the full cost of its services, including $3 billion of upgrades in the North Island.
Northpower, Top Energy, Refining NZ, and Northland MP Winston Peters were among those that made submissions and none supported the proposal. Northlanders accounted for nearly 15 per cent or 13 of the 89 submissions.
The authority has proposed multiple options, including increasing lines charges for Top Energy customers in the Far North from $155 to $421 - an increase of 172 per cent - and from $300 to $560 or an 87 per cent hike for customers on Northpower network in Whangarei and Kaipara.
Trustpower is being supported by a group of businesses, local government and electricity sector participants - including Top Energy and Northpower - in its judicial review that was set down for a hearing in court yesterday.
Group spokesman Kim Campbell said the authority's proposal was being rushed through by stealth before Christmas.
"The plan as it stands will have a devastating impact on some of our most vulnerable communities. Not only will some face a big new increase in their power bills, but others will face the possibility of losing their jobs if their employers cannot afford to stay operating."
He said according to the authority, it could take years to figure out the true of cost of the changes for business and communities.
"That's just not good enough. That data needs to be made clear before decisions are made, and all affected communities need to be properly consulted.
It has not commissioned any independent expert reviews of the merits of its proposals, and not engaged fully with the expert evidence provided by submitters. No cross-submissions have been allowed, and there is no regulatory right of appeal.
"And providing just 10 weeks to evaluate a plan to overhaul nearly a billion dollars of electricity sector charges, over the same period as affected parties were working through other significant regulatory reviews, is further proof of a rushed and flawed approach.
"The Electricity Authority needs to press pause on this. A significant proportion of the industry still don't agree there is a problem that needs solving. This is a once-in-a-generation change and for the sake of Kiwi consumers, they can't afford to make mistakes."