NZX-listed Bay of Plenty-based electricity lines company Horizon Energy says regulation of the market needs to be improved.
Horizon chief executive Ajay Anand says the current regime allows some electricity generators and retailers to effectively maximise their returns at the expense of the consumers who were supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of the regulations imposed on lines businesses.
Mr Anand says lines companies are often portrayed as being responsible for high electricity prices, but he does not believe that's the case, saying returns and prices are rigorously controlled by the Commerce Commission.
He says the regulators need to look at other parts of the value chain that go into making up a consumer's power bill and to investigate whether there are other elements causing potentially higher prices.
