No ‘mistakes’ in power tariff

Press, 12 February 1979, Page 12

No ‘mistakes’ in power tariff

PA New Plymouth | No fault could be attached Ito anyone for last week’s instruction to power-supply i authorities to scrap the tariff increases they reviewed | last year, said the deputy I secretary of the Policy Division of the Ministry of Energy (Mr A. G. Summers) from Wellington.

He had been asked to I comment on an NZPA report! quoting the chairman of the; Electricity Supply Authorities Association (Mr S. , Duff) as saying the instruction was the result of an | apparent error of judgment I .by the Electricity Division. of the Ministry. | Late last year the authorI ities were advised that the I bulk national tariff was to be increased by 5 per cent from April 1 this year and they could adjust their own accordingly up to a maximum of 7 per cent in any i individual case.

But the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon) stipulated that the national average increse must not exceed 5.5 per cent. In fact, the national average turned out to be more than 6 per cent and Mr Muldoon trimmed individual increases. Mr Duff said on Thursday that his association considered the Electricity Division had gven poor information, or poorly worded information. to Mr Muldoon. The forced doubling-up of tariff reviews had caused a great upset, said Mr Duff. Mr Summers said that he did not agree that there had been any miscalculation. “There can be no fault attached to anyone. All the proposed tariff increases j were got together. They were found to average out at over 5.5 per cent, and so everyone was pared back,” he said.