Originally Posted by
Zaphod
The Clark Labour government introduced this scheme around 18 years ago, but it has been recommended to the current Labour government that the scheme be revoked, as the scheme used high volume users to subsidise low volume users, and this is now viewed as unfair.
This increase isn't just a one off, with the cap on daily user charges rising by $0.30 per annum until April 2026, following which the cap on charges will be removed entirely. The daily cost was projected to rise from $0.30 per day + GST to $1.80 per day + GST at the time this was first discussed, which IMO will be much higher. Power companies overwhelmingly agreed with Labour's proposal to make these changes.
I also note that due to rising energy production costs, labour costs, and various other expenses that the per kWh rate for most providers is also rising, so it will hit consumers very hard at a time we need it the least. With gas network charges set to rise by up to 30% over the next 3-5 years, let alone any changes to the price per kWh or gas, it will become quite expensive to heat the family home.
There was going to be a $5m fund set up those who are the worst affected by theses changes, so perhaps we should all apply just in case?