Latest news with #AustralianEnergyMarketCommission
West Australian
an hour ago
- Business
- West Australian
AEMC announces new rules in retail energy market, limits price hikes to once a year
Electricity retailers will be limited to hiking prices on consumers once a year in a major shake-up to the country's retail energy market. The Australian Energy Market Commission announced the changes on Thursday, entrenching a sweep of new rules designed to protect consumers from price shocks. Retailers are now limited to lifting prices once a year and must ensure customers who sign up to a plan with a temporary benefit do not roll over to one that is higher than the default price. Further, there is now a ban on what AMEC calls 'unreasonably high penalties' for not paying bills on time, and a ban on fees, except for network charges, for vulnerable customers. Providers must also limit fees charges to reasonable costs for all other consumers. AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the new rules, which follow from requests submitted by state energy ministers in August last year, marked a 'significant milestone in consumer protection'. 'These reforms will help ensure that Australian households can have she said. 'For the first time, we have formally applied our updated equity guidance across these rule changes, explicitly considering how contract terms, benefits and fees may disproportionately impact vulnerable consumers.' She said limiting energy price increases to once a year would help households 'predict' their energy costs and avoid unexpected price rises across the year. The AEMC also announced a draft proposal to improve the visibility of the 'better offer message' that appears on energy bills. The regulator claims as many as 40 per cent of customers do not always open their bills and so miss important messages about potential savings. The draft rule would require retailers to present better offer messages in cover emails and bill summaries. 'The primary opportunity is visibility – ensuring customers know when better deals are available to them,' Ms Collyer said. data insights director Sally Tindall said the changes were 'a step in the right direction' but more needed to be done to 'lift the clouds of confusion that hang over our electricity bills'. 'The new rule to limit price hikes to just once a year is a fantastic measure that will give Australians greater confidence when comparing their options,' she said. 'It means that Australians will be more likely to be comparing apples with apples when they do their research, particularly if the majority of retailers opt to implement any price hikes in July in line with the reference price changes. 'Right now, Australians looking for a competitive deal on their electricity plan really need to be checking on their rates at least once every six months. 'Limiting the number of price hikes to just one a year could reduce the need to check on your bill, freeing up time to focus on other expenses.' The new rules come into effect from July 1, 2026, giving retailers 12 months to implement them.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Huge change to impact your electricity bill
Electricity retailers will be limited to hiking prices on consumers once a year in a major shake-up to the country's retail energy market. The Australian Energy Market Commission announced the changes on Thursday, entrenching a sweep of new rules designed to protect consumers from price shocks. Retailers are now limited to lifting prices once a year and must ensure customers who sign up to a plan with a temporary benefit do not roll over to one that is higher than the default price. Further, there is now a ban on what AMEC calls 'unreasonably high penalties' for not paying bills on time, and a ban on fees, except for network charges, for vulnerable customers. Providers must also limit fees charges to reasonable costs for all other consumers. AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the new rules, which follow from requests submitted by state energy ministers in August last year, marked a 'significant milestone in consumer protection'. Power bill increases will be limited to once a year under new rules from the AEMC: NewsWire / Brenton Edwards Credit: News Corp Australia 'These reforms will help ensure that Australian households can have she said. 'For the first time, we have formally applied our updated equity guidance across these rule changes, explicitly considering how contract terms, benefits and fees may disproportionately impact vulnerable consumers.' She said limiting energy price increases to once a year would help households 'predict' their energy costs and avoid unexpected price rises across the year. The AEMC also announced a draft proposal to improve the visibility of the 'better offer message' that appears on energy bills. The regulator claims as many as 40 per cent of customers do not always open their bills and so miss important messages about potential savings. The draft rule would require retailers to present better offer messages in cover emails and bill summaries. 'The primary opportunity is visibility – ensuring customers know when better deals are available to them,' Ms Collyer said. Australian Energy Market Commission chair Anna Collyer said the changes would help protect consumers from price shocks. AEMC Credit: Supplied data insights director Sally Tindall said the changes were 'a step in the right direction' but more needed to be done to 'lift the clouds of confusion that hang over our electricity bills'. 'The new rule to limit price hikes to just once a year is a fantastic measure that will give Australians greater confidence when comparing their options,' she said. 'It means that Australians will be more likely to be comparing apples with apples when they do their research, particularly if the majority of retailers opt to implement any price hikes in July in line with the reference price changes. 'Right now, Australians looking for a competitive deal on their electricity plan really need to be checking on their rates at least once every six months. 'Limiting the number of price hikes to just one a year could reduce the need to check on your bill, freeing up time to focus on other expenses.' The new rules come into effect from July 1, 2026, giving retailers 12 months to implement them.
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Energy price rule changes to limit unfair bill hikes
Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Energy price rule changes to limit unfair bill hikes
Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Federal politics live: Energy companies restricted to one cost increase a year
Energy retailers won't be able to raise prices more than once a year under major new reforms announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission. Follow all the updates in our live blog.
