Hydro companies will pass on any water charges, owner says
BUSINESSDESK: Hydo-electricity generators will likely pass on any charges for water in higher power bills, Infratil, the majority owner of TrustPower, says.
The comment is made in a prospectus for a bond sale released by the infrastructure investor yesterday.
TrustPower and other hydro generators do not pay for access rights to water that have been granted by resource consents.
There is an increasing focus on the value of these access rights, and the issue of allocation is being addressed by the New Zealand Land and Water Forum, the prospectus says.
"It is possible that TrustPower and other hydro generators will eventually face some additional tax or resource rental for continued access to water.
"As with a tax on carbon emissions, these taxes would likely be passed through to consumers by increasing electricity prices," the prospectus says.
The government delayed the sale of 49% of Mighty River Power until next year while it consults Maori about a "shares-plus" concept in a report by the Waitangi Tribunal on the issue of water rights.
The prospectus also notes that Infratil's investment in TrustPower makes up a substantial part of its value and that there are risks associated that.
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Comments and questions1
So, if National has to pay off Maori with water rights charges on rivers used for electricity generation, we will all end up paying more for our electricity. Then unemployment will rise as employers try to offset the increased electricity prices. Then there will more pressure on the welfare system as the (largely Maori) unemployed need higher benefits to pay for the increased cost of electricity. Then the child poverty industry will demand higher benefits all around to counter increased child poverty. And so it goes on.