Private sector businesses say the state-owned power companies are woefully under-performing.
The heads of boards of all 17 state-owned enterprises have been summoned to the Beehive next month to discuss concerns about their performance.
A spokesperson for the publicly-listed company, Trustpower, Graeme Purches, says the returns to taxpayers from state-owned enterprises are no more than 2% or 3% of the money invested.
Mr Purches says the Government would be better shifting the money into a bank account and waiting for the interest to arrive.
The Major Electricity Users' Group says putting new commercial imperatives on state-owned enterprises would drive down their running costs and ensure their assets are correctly valued.
