The Green Party's written to Government ministers asking them to use their majority owner status to pressure major gentailers to reduce power prices.

Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says shareholding ministers, Simeon Brown and Nicola Willis, can write to the gentailers and require them to do more on energy hardship programmes. 

She suggests they could also call for retail prices not to surpass inflation.

Energy economist Geoff Bertram says it's time action was taken to bring down the impact of the major gentailers.

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