Electricity prices to be investigated 

Plans to look into pricing structures in the power industry are being welcomed.

The Electricity Commission is looking into pricing structures, as power retailers prepare to push up their prices again ahead of winter.

There are claims companies are using high spot prices as an excuse to raise the price of electricity.

Consumer New Zealand boss Sue Chetwin says the organisation has been saying for some time it doesn't think the retail market works very competitively.

She says that over the past few years, prices have either flat-lined or gone down for commercial users, but they have skyrocketed for ordinary consumers.

Chetwin feels an investigation into how the market operates is timely - in the current financial climate, she feels many families are struggling to even put food on the table so as we go into winter, and that any investigation that could ease the pressure of power prices would lighten that load.

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