The outgoing Electricity Commission chairman, David Caygill, says says prices must continue to rise to meet the cost of new power generation.
Mr Caygill, says his biggest concern has been the lack of confidence many consumers have in the power system.
He was commenting in the final annual report of the Commission, which was replaced this year by the Electricity Authority.
He says the lack of confidence stems from rising prices and episodes where consumers have had to save power because of shortages, but says prices will have to keep going up to pay for new generation.
But a senior associate in Public Policy at Victoria University, Geoff Bertram, says Mr Caygill is excusing the behaviour of the big power companies, who he says have gouged billions of dollars from the public.
