Power prices have been the biggest driver of New Zealand's current inflation spike

Stats NZ figures out today show it reached three percent in the year to September.

That's up from 2.7 percent annually to June.

The Herald's Liam Dann says the hikes in electricity prices are the steepest in a generation.

He says it's the worst since 1989, and driven not just by the wholesale electricity price, but also by distribution.