Power price increases will see some customers facing a hike up of up to $1000 a year on their electricity bill, experts say. 

Consumer NZ's Powerswitch says April 1 is when many electricity companies tend to put up prices. 

Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge said this year's price hikes were looking like "a real doozy" as several factors have resulted in a bigger hike. 

"It's kind of like a perfect storm. There are four ways the price rises are hitting customers. 

"First, the industry is phasing out low-use power plans, which has given companies permission to double how much they currently charge low users for having electricity supplied to their home." 

Those families with a gas connection will also be affected by the increase, with many gas companies now able to charge more for supplying gas in order to make up for some of the cost of their infrastructure. 

"Finally, the actual prices of both power and gas used is also going up for a lot of people, as we've seen in letters notifying consumers of price changes taking effect from [today]." 

Fuge said the biggest losers this year are those households using both electricity and gas. 

As a result, members of the public are being encouraged to check whether they could be saving money by signing up to another power company. 

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said his own family, based in Wellington, will pay about 25 per cent more this year - costing his family about $850 in total, or $70 more a month. 

"I'll be checking Powerswitch to see how much I can save by switching to another company." 

By switching electricity providers, power companies were kept on their toes and people were able to benefit from that - as they may offer competitive rates in order to nab a new customer.