What a pity almost no one listened three years ago when I correctly predicted that line charges would rise at least two hundred - and up to three hundred percent - to cover the cost of Aurora's continuing complete incompetence.
What a pity none of the regions mayor's ever answered their phones or replied to the emails I wrote over this.
What a pity no one took any notice when I pointed out that pole nailing is extremely unlikely to return a pole to a safe state and is therefore an exercise in pouring millions of dollars into a hole in the ground.
What a pity that the current money grab is not the last and that a new CPP is already being formulated that will come hard on the heels of this one.
What a pity that Dunedin's councillors think that you can paper-over this gross incompetence with yet another report as thin as the whitewash that it's written on and that wishful thinking will carry the day.
What a pity.
- Richard Healey Phill Thomson the ball of wool is slowly unravelling.
A couple of years ago I was interviewed outside Aurora's offices by tv3. I told them, and it made it to broadcast, that line charges would at least double, and probably triple, because of the sheer incompetence at Aurora.
Aurora tried to get the interview tossed in the trash. I was told that Aurora had claimed it would be unethical and unprofessional to report what I had said because there was no possibility that the price rise would be anywhere near the amount I claimed and that I was simply trying to spread panic. And look where we are now......
- Lindsay Gordon Richard Healey wonder if TV3 will look at this again
- Richard Healey Lindsay Gordon [...] The audio clip of Cadogan contained in the article is worth listening to of you haven't already. I've given up ringing his office to try to speak to him - I get the distinct impression it embarrasses his PA.
There are fears Aurora Energy's $400 million upgrade to its network will disproportionately affect those least able to afford it.
Under the Dunedin City Council-owned company's proposal, line charges may increase by up to $500 a year.
But with the economic effects of Covid-19 wreaking havoc in
Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago there are calls to revisit the plan. ...
... To fix the network, the company has proposed an upgrade strategy which it will submit to the Commerce Commission next month.
The draft proposal suggested monthly power bills would need to rise by an average 18 percent, but Central Otago and Wānaka residents faced 23 percent price hikes.
Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said in light of Covid-19's economic devastation, those plans needed to be revisited.
"It was obscene even before the current recession or depression that we're now in and now it's beyond obscene, and absolutely unsustainable," he said.
Central Otago and Wānaka's residents faced monthly line charges rising from $59 to $101 by 2024, in comparison to hikes in Queenstown of $45 to $79 and in Dunedin of $33 to $59.
Cadogan said the Central Otago District Council would be pressing the Commerce Commission to ensure the spending was justified....
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/417628/dunedin-line-charges-could-increase-500-a-year
