So when did power prices increase?

The Herald reports:

Kiwi households are the biggest losers when it comes to the increasing cost of electric power, with prices having surged by almost 80 per cent since 1990.

So when did prices increase the most. Let’s look at it by three year terms:

• 1993: 18.1%
• 1996: 15.3%
• 1999: 8.3%
• 2002: 7.6%
• 2005: 23.8%
• 2008: 22.9%
• 2011: 10.6%
• 2014: 12.1%
• 2017: 4.7%

So the two biggest increases were between 2002 and 2008. The smallest increase has been from 2014 to 2017.

The document points to a two-tier market forming where those who actively shop around for better deals benefit from competition, while those who don’t, end up paying higher prices. The average gap between the cheapest retailer’s price and the incumbent retailer’s price has soared to about 50 per cent since 2002.

So the major issue is education. Shop around.