Common Grace Aotearoa has called on the New Zealand Electricity Authority to highlight the widely variable fees that companies are charging to disconnect and reconnect a household that doesn't pay their bills.

These fees are effectively charging people damages for being unable to pay, those damages are hard to justify when they deal with disconnection cases where no staff time costs on site visits are required. 

For months, the Common Grace Economic Justice Team investigated disconnection fees charged by 33 Aotearoa New Zealand power companies in cases of unpaid bills. They found huge variation in fees and little transparency, despite retailers being required in the Consumer Care Guidelines to ensure fees are 'reasonable'.

The 8000-strong call delivered by Common Grace recommends that the Electricity Authority ban these fees; companies stop charging them; and retailers to proactively offer free smart-meters to prevent disconnections happening. 

Common Grace’s research findings have received coverage in the NZ Herald, Radio New Zealand and Newstalk ZB.

Common Grace will now be take their research findings into conversations to highlight the behaviour of individual electricity companies, as well as into ongoing meetings with the Electricity Authority to push for change.

Anglicans from the Diocese of Wellington are at the heart of the Common Grace Aotearoa team who advocate for fairer, better deals for all Aotearoa New Zealanders, and especially those families that struggle to cover the basics on inadequate incomes. The Common Grace Aotearoa movement is growing and Anglican churches, youth groups and schools are welcome to join in and take part in both online and in-person campaigns for a fair go.

You can find more information and ideas on how to make a difference with the backing of Common Grace's research and action plans on the Common Grace Aotearoa website.