Trustpower Again Tries To Deflect Attention From Profit Grab, Says Bradford

New efforts by Trustpower to blame electricity reforms for power price increases are just another attempt to deflect attention from a profit grab, Enterprise and Commerce Minister Max Bradford says.

Trustpower 's Community Relations Manager Graeme Purches today issued a press statement attempting to explain why some, but not all, of Trustpower's customers faced a price hike.

Mr Bradford said the statement showed Trustpower was continuing to be selective in the information it released to consumers.

"How Trustpower can maintain that it should discriminate against many hundreds of its consumers who did not sign up to the so called "Friends" scheme is beyond me, when the costs the company faces are exactly the same.

"The reaction of any consumer should be to seek lower prices from another company in these days of competition," Mr Bradford said.

"Mr Purches continues Trustpower's long standing campaign against the electricity reforms, by attempting to blame his company's increase in charges on some areas on the reforms.

"He claims that the reforms have created an environment where lines companies have to make a profit.

"Beside the fact that I know of no electricity company that was not earning a profit before the reforms, there is absolutely nothing in legislation requiring lines companies, whether they are privately or community owned, to have to make a profit."

"That is a matter for the owners and the directors," Mr Bradford said.

"For Mr Purches to continue to argue that the reforms 'forced' companies to act in any different way than they had to before the reforms in respect to rates of return, level of profitability, and the charges they levy, is a specious argument, simply designed to shift the blame for a profit grab by some companies - companies such as Trustpower - onto the reforms," he said.

Mr Bradford said he was amazed by the attitude of many community owned lines companies who claimed they now needed much higher rates of return, after the electricity reforms were introduced last month, than they did previously.

"The public should be under no misapprehension that where community owned companies have increased their lines charges, while at the same time reducing their cost of operations, a decision has been taken by trust owners to extract more from their local communities through higher electricity prices.

"These decisions have nothing to do with the reforms, even though it is apparent that some are choosing to use the introduction of the reforms as a convenient excuse," Mr Bradford said.