Power companies across the country are admitting that there could be major problems next year with the increasing cost of power, both because of high demand and of a potentially dry year.

High prices are being blamed on low hydro-lake storage and a failure of the Pohokura gas pipeline off Taranaki, for the second time this year.

Energy Minister Megan Woods told Mike Hosking that she is hoping that once the infrastructure has been fixed, the situation will start to improve.

"What we have are some short-term issues with the broken gas pipeline, which are certainly causing the prices to spike

LISTEN ABOVE AS MEGAN WOODS SPEAKS TO MIKE HOSKING