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Speaker 1: There are changes coming that might bring your power bild down.

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Speaker 1: The electricity authority is forcing big power companies to offer

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Speaker 1: cheaper prices at off peak times and also pay better

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Speaker 1: prices to solely users who feed power back into the grid. Now,

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Speaker 1: this comes after a report involving the COMMUS Commission. In

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Speaker 1: the chair of the ComCom dot John Smallers.

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Speaker 2: With US Morning John, Good morning Heather.

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Speaker 1: I was under the impression that we pay less off peak.

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Speaker 1: How is this not the case.

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Speaker 2: Well, the wholesale market prices are cheaper off peak, but

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Speaker 2: retail prices are different. They're determined by what retailers offer.

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Speaker 2: And what this is really doing is saying all big

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Speaker 2: retailers have to offer plans that look like this, okay.

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Speaker 3: And how much less do they need to charge us

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Speaker 3: off peak?

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Speaker 2: That's not specified. It's just all that specified is that

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Speaker 2: every retailer has to have a plan that varies by

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Speaker 2: peak and off peak. And that's then obviously it's not

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Speaker 2: compulsory for people to use that. People will pick those

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Speaker 2: up if they want them. But the idea is that

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Speaker 2: they have to be offered.

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Speaker 1: But what if they do something tricky like they offer

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Speaker 1: it at two percent less or something like that.

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Speaker 2: But the theory that is underlying this is essentially that

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Speaker 2: they'll they'll compete with each other and people will look

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Speaker 2: across them. You know. If if this doesn't work out

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Speaker 2: as planned, then obviously regulators they have to think about

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Speaker 2: what comes next. But that's the basic idea. Give them

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Speaker 2: an opportunity, make them, make them compete in this way,

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Speaker 2: and see how it goes.

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Speaker 3: And how much do you anticipate people will be able

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Speaker 3: to save.

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Speaker 2: We I don't have that modeling. The Outrist Authority has

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Speaker 2: some modeling of that, but look, it's just directionally the

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Speaker 2: right thing to do.

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Speaker 3: I think either I would agree with that totally.

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Speaker 1: By the way, how much are they going to pay

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Speaker 1: the solar that the people who are feeding electricity back

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Speaker 1: through their solar power?

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Speaker 2: Again, that's not that's a that's a principal based regulation

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Speaker 2: that it has to be done. One is actually running

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Speaker 2: through the lines companies, so they're the ones who have

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Speaker 2: to put a negative price through to the retailers, which

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Speaker 2: then gets passed on. So a little bit of chain

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Speaker 2: of supply chain there. But again the idea is you

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Speaker 2: have to do this because it is saving you capital,

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Speaker 2: so you must you must pay for it.

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Speaker 1: Listen on the supermarkets and the and the charges that

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Speaker 1: were laid earlier this week. Can you explain what you

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Speaker 1: guys are alleging happened between Gilmore's and the supplier?

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Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, I'll have yes. Sure. Look the supplier and

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Speaker 2: there's a supplier and a customer and both of them

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Speaker 2: have traded with first Us and Gilmore's. The the supplier

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Speaker 2: and the customer struck a direct deal, so it was

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Speaker 2: just you know, I'll sell directly to you. And and

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Speaker 2: when Gilmore's and food Stares found out about that, they

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Speaker 2: weren't very happy and they wanted the trade rooted through them,

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Speaker 2: and that's what ended up happening.

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Speaker 3: Well, how did they manage to get what they want?

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Speaker 2: They have ways of persuading people about these things.

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Speaker 3: Did they threaten allegedly?

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Speaker 2: Well? I mean, look that this will come out in court.

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Speaker 2: But the phrase produced in the media release is persuaded.

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Speaker 3: Okay, what what? Why did you use the phrase persuaded?

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Speaker 3: I feel like there's more to.

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Speaker 2: The story, John, Oh, there is, but it's before it is.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's a really interesting case. It's a very

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Speaker 2: important case for us because you know, it's one where

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Speaker 2: that interaction between supermarkets and suppliers is going to be ventilated.

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Speaker 2: So it's a landmark case, but it is before the courts,

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Speaker 2: and so you know, I think we'd better just let

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Speaker 2: those stacks inverge at that point.

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Speaker 1: This is the allegation that has been made now by

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Speaker 1: someps for some time, right that there is a lot

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Speaker 1: of heavy in going on by the supermarkets and so

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Speaker 1: they basically have their businesses screwed. And would you say

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Speaker 1: that if this is proven, this is what we're talking about,

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Speaker 1: This is what the supplies are saying.

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Speaker 2: This is exactly what the suppliers have been saying to

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Speaker 2: us for a long time, and we've been We've long

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Speaker 2: been concerned about it.

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Speaker 3: And does it affect what I pay at the supermarket?

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Speaker 2: Not this particular case, but in general it could do.

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Speaker 3: Okay, so.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's restriction of competition perfectly, say, if this conduct

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Speaker 2: was widespread, then it would be it would be restrictive.

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Speaker 3: Okay, looking forward to seeing that hit the courts.

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Speaker 1: Really appreciate your time, John, that's John Small, the chair

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Speaker 1: of the Commerce Commission.

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