This follows criticism from Grey Power Otago president Jo Millar, who said the cost of power would put people’s health at risk over the coming winter, despite the "godsend" Winter Energy Payment which came into effect on Monday.
Aurora Energy was charging more for its power, with her own bill over $100 more than it was this time last year, she said.
The payment provides people receiving New Zealand Superannuation, a main benefit or veteran’s pension, with an extra $20.46 per week until October 1, while couples and people with children receive an extra $31.82 per week.
She was aware Aurora was making upgrades, but did not understand why the company — which reported a $7.8 million profit in its 2022 annual report — found it necessary to raise its prices.
"I’ve got real concerns that if some people, even with these energy payments, cannot meet these increasing electricity bills, it’s just going to mean the hospitals are going to get people back in there again because they’re not warm enough in their home."
In March 2021, Aurora Energy agreed a customised price-quality path (CPP) with the Commerce Commission which allowed Aurora to recover $563 million from its customers to fund upgrade work.
The commission said the upgrade programme was much needed and without it the Aurora network would have continued to deteriorate, safety incidents would have increased and customers would experience more and longer outages.
Aurora Energy chief financial officer Gary Dixon said the average customer charges increased by 14.8% from April 1.
Its annual price increases were the subject of a consultation with the public and were part of its five-year investment plan to improve the safety and reliability of Otago’s electricity network, he said.
The plan was "progressing well", and information for the 2023 regulatory year would likely be shared in October.
The increased charges included a 4.4% increase due to higher-than-expected inflation, and a 1.4% increase for transmission costs attributed to new Transpower pricing.
"Aurora Energy takes power from Transpower’s national grid and distributes it to homes and businesses via power lines and underground cables.
"Our line charges are just one part of a power bill," he said.
These recovered the direct costs of distributing electricity across the network, as well as indirect costs including incentives, rates, regulatory levies and Transpower’s electricity transmission costs.
"A regulatory framework governs Aurora Energy’s annual price-setting process and ensures through price-quality controls that electricity distribution businesses do not earn excessive profits."
