Regulator clips Orion’s attempt to claw back $86 mln in earthquake costs

Tue, 13 Aug 2013

Aug 14 (BusinessDesk) - The Commerce Commission plans to let Christchurch electricity lines company Orion New Zealand hike its prices to recover earthquake rebuilding costs, but in a much smaller way than Orion is seeking. The regulator’s draft decision would let Orion lift prices 9.2 percent in 2014, or about $5.20 a month for a typical household, with further annual increases at the rate of inflation until 2019, it said in a statement. That’s lower than Orion’s proposal to hike prices 15 percent, or $8.50 a month, in year one, with subseque...

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