If a Labour Government is elected on September 20 Tauranga residents can look forward to their power bills being slashed by up to $330 year, says leader David Cunliffe.

Labour this week confirmed it would establish NZ Power – an entity that would bulk buy electricity from all the country's power generators – which they announced with the Greens last year.

Labour leader David Cunliffe announced his party's NZ Power policy this week.

David says Labour views the power market as being broken and is promising to fix it if his party gets over the line and forms a Government later this month.

'We are sick of hearing every time there is a power hike it's everybody's fault but the power generators and retailers,” says David.

'Meanwhile, as Kiwi households pay more and more for electricity, power companies have celebrated record profits.”

The Labour policy would put a stop to more sales of shares in government-owned power companies, includes new measures to improve transparency in the electricity market and has stringent safeguards on petroleum and mineral extraction.

Energy efficiency would also be pushed to ensure at least 90 per cent of the country's electricity is generated from renewable sources by 2025.

An investigation into pre-pay electricity practices, to bring prices down to standard rates, would also take place, says David.

'It is not fair that those least able to pay have to pay the highest prices. There is an astonishing number of Kiwi's having their power cut off because they cannot afford to pay their bill.”

Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges dismisses Labour's policy, saying plans to dismantle the electricity system would do nothing to help Kiwis.

He asks why anyone would trust Labour and the Greens with a heavily-criticised, experimental system.

'Labour is not planning to implement their policy until January 2018 [which is] two elections away.

'National believes a competitive market is the best way to put downward pressure on prices.

Simon says National's 2010 electricity reforms has made the market the most competitive it has ever been, with 14 independent retailers operating 25 brands.

Consumers who shop around can save on average $155 per switch, says Simon.

'What consumers want is a competitive, secure, sustainable electricity market.

'National is committed to delivering what consumers want and we will continue to work on initiatives that improve competition and transparency in the electricity market,” says Simon.

Using Consumer NZ's Powerswitch website, SunLive compared pricing trends of energy retailers in Tauranga.

The prices found are based on the average annual consumption for a medium-sized household, or 8096kWh per year, and include prompt and electronic payment deals.

As of August 2014, the cheapest retailer was Just Energy with $2024 per year, while the most expensive was Trustpower at $2562 per year.

Applying Labour's $330 savings estimate, Just Energy customers would pay $1694 per year, while Trustpower consumers would pay $2232 per year.