“Electricity prices, asset values, and regulation: the Mighty River Power sell-off in context”.

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, July 8th, 2012 - 4 comments
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At this Fabian Society event on Monday 9 July in St John’s Church Hall, cnr Dixon and Willis Streets, Wellington, Dr Geoff Bertram will discuss how deregulation and corporatisation of the state-owned electricity companies has been good for Treasury but bad for domestic consumers. Part-privatisation now may lock in prices and asset values that could never have been sustainable under proper regulation, and in the process close off policy options to tackle energy poverty. Proper regulation is still possible and may be an answer. Starts at 5:30pm, admission is free, all welcome.

See Geoff Bertram. “Paths not taken in electricity restructuring: alternatives to the asset sales programme”. Institute of Policy Studies seminar, 13 April 2012, April 2012.

4 comments on ““Electricity prices, asset values, and regulation: the Mighty River Power sell-off in context”. ”

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  1. Ad 1
    8 July 2012 at 7:18 pm

    I struggle with the amount of publicity that the Fabians don’t get. We can say “MSM conspiracy” all day but surely the Fabians have more collective grunt than that.

    I mean, they had 300 academics and activists and otherwise well-to-do NonNats attend their big Auckland gig last month, but with zero MSM hit. Surely among that lot were some clever media players?

    Is there something more the Greens or Labour need to do with them, or are the Fabians media tone-deaf? Just seems like a very limited effort to continue to preach to the converted, is all.

    • lprent 1.1
      9 July 2012 at 8:45 am

      Filming the lectures and putting them up on the net would help a lot.

      But the word is obviously getting out there. My boss was saying last week that they’d gone along to one of them up here in Auckland. I hadn’t urged him to do so. It must have come through from somewhere. And he was saying I should go to one..

  2. joe90 2
    8 July 2012 at 7:25 pm

    Meanwhile the bankers begin re-possessing Greece.

    http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Greece_says_will_carry_out_reforms,_privatisations.html?cid=33064992

    Greece’s new finance minister on Saturday pledged to carry out reforms and privatisations demanded under its latest financial rescue in an attempt to regain credibility with international partners stumping up money to keep the country afloat.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/greece-privatization-plans-2012-7

    He said the government plans to give priority to 28 privatizations, including the state natural gas, water and betting companies, the development of the former Athens airport, other airports, yacht marinas, the state railways and the sale and leaseback of 28 state properties. The privatization of Public Power Corporation will come at a later stage, Stournaras said.

  3. Huginn 3
    10 July 2012 at 12:14 am

    The problem is with the energy markets themselves. Its very complicated, but Bryan Leyland does a very good job of describing why they don’t work very well here:

    Partial privatisation stymies market changes

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/7236904/Partial-privatisation-stymies-market-changes

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