Survey Reveals Widespread Power Poverty In New Zealand

WELLINGTON, Aug 19 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- About 140,000 New Zealand households had to take out loans to pay their power bills in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Consumer NZ, the country's consumer protection and information organisation.

"Across the country, the cost of electricity is a real worry, with one in three people placing it in their top three financial concerns," Jessica Walker, campaigns manager at Consumer NZ, said on Monday, reported Xinhua.

More than 360,000 households had difficulty paying their power bill in the past 12 months, and more than a quarter of a million households had overdue fees added to their power bill because they could not afford to pay by the due date, said the organisation's latest energy survey.

The survey found that 2 per cent of households had their power disconnected at least once in the last year because they could not keep up with the power's rising costs.

"Disconnection puts you at risk of being rejected by electricity retailers in the future," said Walker, adding that almost one in 10 households have been turned down as a customer by an electricity retailer because of a previously unpaid bill.

For many people, the rising costs and dropping temperatures have led to a sense of despair, she said. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA