Latest news with #billincrease
The Australian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Households face up to $228 electricity bill hike after AER issues final default market prices
NSW households could have energy bill increases of up to 9.7 per cent from July 1, with South Australian and south east Queensland customers facing a hit of up to 3.7 per cent, according to the energy regulator. The figures were released in the final determination of the Default Market Offer, set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) on Monday. The offer sets the maximum price caps for bill increases for residential customers on default plans, about 8 per cent of customers, and come into affect from the new 2025-26 financial year beginning on July 1. Households in south east Queensland will see prices increase by 0.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent, South Australians face price hikes of between 2.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent, while NSW residents will be hit the hardest, with increases between 8.3 per cent and 9.7 per cent. Prices for NSW residents were slightly higher than the hikes listed in the AER's April draft determination. NSW residents could face an annual bill hike of up to 9.7 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Modelling by Canstar Blue estimates households on default plans could see their power bills increase by $71 to $228 over the next financial year. NSW customers with retailers who source their energy from Essential Energy, one of the state's three electricity distributors, could see their bills increase by 9.1 per cent, with the average annual bill rising from $2513 to $2741. Although the price caps only apply to the minority of residential customers on default plans, Compare the Market's head of energy Meredith O'Brien said the offer would likely result in price charges across the market. 'Whether or not you're on a standing offer, we know that households across Victoria, South Australia, South East Queensland and NSW will likely see changes to their electricity prices from 1 July as a result of today's determination,' she said. 'When the price of electricity standing offers change, so too do other plans on the market.' Energy Minister Chris Bowen acknowledged that energy bills remained 'too high,' and urged households to compare plans using platform's like the government's Energy Made Easy comparison tool. 'With energy plans that are between 18 per cent and 27 per cent cheaper than the DMO it's worth shopping around,' he said. 'We also know 80 per cent of households aren't on the cheapest energy plan they could be which is why we're making it easier for households to find and switch to better plans. Check the Energy Made Easy website or for the cheapest plans in your area.' Energy Minister Chris Bowen urged households to compare prices and switch to a cheaper plan. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Coalition energy spokesman Ted O'Brien seized on the increases to the increase to prices, and said bills would continue to go up under Labor. 'While the Opposition acknowledges it did not meet expectations at the recent election the fundamental issues in Australia's energy market under Labor persist – prices continue to rise,' he said. 'The Coalition will take the time to listen and to get it right, but the message from Australian families remains consistent – prices remain too high and the pressure is mounting. 'Constant assurances of cheaper power from the Albanese Government have not been born out. 'Australians are asking their government a simple question today: when will these price rises stop?' Canstar Blue's data insights director Sally Tindal also urged customers to compare plans, stating consumers could save more than $400 a year. 'If you get a note from your provider telling you your electricity prices are on the rise, use it as an opportunity to check whether there's a cheaper plan out there,' she said, telling households to act before the July 1 deadline. 'Switching now should not preclude you from checking again in a few months time after the dust has settled on the price hikes, provided you're not on a plan with a lock-in contract. 'Our research shows switching from an average priced plan to one of the lowest in the market could save you over $400 a year in some cases – this for some households could be enough to mitigate the upcoming price hikes.' AER chair Clare Savage attributed the increases to the rising cost of energy production. 'We know this is not welcome news for consumers in the current cost-of-living environment,' she said. 'As noted in our draft determination, sustained pressures across almost all components of the DMO have driven these price rises, with wholesale and network costs rising in most jurisdictions between 1 per cent and 11 per cent, and retail costs between 8 per cent and 35 per cent compared with last year.' Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Why your electricity bill is set to spike within WEEKS
Australians in one state are facing a $228 annual hike in their electricity bills with the pain likely to get worse as government-funded rebates end and more charge electric cars at home. The Australian Energy Regulator final determination report, released on Monday, had bad news for consumers, starting on July 1 as winter pushes up demand for heaters. This is based on what retailers can charge customers in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia during the next financial year under a default market offer. High demand and network outages were blamed for the steep wholesale prices feeding into higher retail prices, along with low levels of renewable energy as Australian governments try to phase out coal-fired power stations. 'These spot prices were partially driven by a greater frequency of high price events, which resulted from a range of factors including high demand, coal generator and network outages, and low renewable generation output,' the AER said. In regional New South Wales, Essential Energy residential customers face the biggest increase of $228 or 9.1 per cent, with the AER citing 'improved network resilience to address climate change-related risks' along with 'the integration of consumer energy resources including rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles'. This takes the average annual electricity bill for 2025-26 to $2,741 , which is even steeper than the $188 or 8.5 per cent increase for Endeavour Energy customers in Sydney, who will be paying $2,411. The increases in NSW were up to 6.7 per cent above forecast inflation, with more homes having a smart meter monitoring when residents used electricity. 'Retail costs have risen for all customers in each region of NSW, primarily due to increases in retailers' operating costs,' the AER said. 'Increases in bad and doubtful debt costs and smart meter costs also contributed to the overall increases.' In south-east Queensland, Energex's increases were more moderate at $77 or 3.7 per cent, or 1.3 per cent above forecast inflation to an average of $2,143. South Australians were set to see a $71 or 3.2 per cent increase, which was 0.8 per cent above predicted inflation for SA Power Networks customers, for an average bill of $2,301. Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said the increases were bad news for customers. 'These electricity price hikes will knock the wind out of the sails for many families, just when they thought they'd turned a corner in the cost-of-living crisis,' she said. 'Price hikes of up to $228 for an average household will be too much for some families to bear, particularly as we enter one of the most energy-intensive periods of the year.' The AER projected bigger increases for customers without a controlled load, where an electrical appliance like a dishwasher can be operated at a different time to the rest of the home to save money during an off-peak period. The federal government's quarterly $75 rebates were extended until the end of December in the pre-election March Budget, where the price came off the bill without customers having to lodge an application for relief. This has seen electricity bills fallen by 9.6 per cent in the year to March, helping to reduce headline inflation to just 2.4 per cent. The AER argued its determination regarding existing customers struck a balance between 'protecting consumers from unjustifiably high prices, while also allowing retailers to recover costs'. 'Retail costs have seen larger increases in all regions,' it said. 'While this source of costs makes up a smaller portion of the total price, the rate of growth means it has contributed more than other elements to the price rises in some regions.' Wholesale power prices make up 31 to 45 per cent of the AER's default market offer arrangement on electricity bill increases, compared with 11 to 16 per cent for retail costs. Network costs made up 33 to 48 per cent of the approved price rise.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Households face up to $228 electricity bill shock after Australian Energy Regulator issues final default market prices
NSW households could have energy bill increases of up to 9.7 per cent from July 1, with South Australian and south east Queensland customers facing a hit of up to 3.7 per cent, according to the energy regulator. The figures were released in the final determination of the Default Market Offer, set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) on Monday. The offer sets the maximum price caps for bill increases for residential customers on standing offer plans in the 2025-26 financial year. Households in south east Queensland will see prices increase by 0.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent, South Australians face price hikes of between 2.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent, while NSW residents will be hit the hardest, with increases between 8.3 per cent and 9.7 per cent. Prices for NSW residents were slightly higher than the hikes listed in the AER's April draft determination. AER chair Clare Savage attributed the increases to the rising cost of energy production. 'We know this is not welcome news for consumers in the current cost-of-living environment,' she said. 'As noted in our draft determination, sustained pressures across almost all components of the DMO have driven these price rises, with wholesale and network costs rising in most jurisdictions between 1 per cent and 11 per cent, and retail costs between 8 per cent and 35 per cent compared with last year.' Modelling by Canstar Blue estimates annual power prices for the 2025-26 financial year will increase between $71 to $228 for households. The increase will hit NSW customers with Essential Energy the hardest, with the average annual electricity bill tipped to increase by 9.1 per cent from $2513 to $2741.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Your OG&E bill is about to go up: See the reasons behind the rising costs for customers
Customers of OG&E will soon see an increase in their monthly electric bill, thanks to rising fuel costs. The energy provider told customers in an email Friday, May 23, that a fuel charge adjustment would go into effect June 1. OG&E charges customers for the "actual cost of fuel to generate electricity," and the fuel cost can be seen on your monthly bill. OG&E cannot profit from fuel costs. "We understand any increase in bills can be difficult," the email said. "That's why we source and purchase fuel at the lowest cost possible to minimize the impact on customer bills and physically store lower cost fuel that we can use when prices increase." According to OG&E, the average residential customer will see an increase of $5.87 per month. You can learn more about how your bill is impacted by the cost of fuel at This fuel cost adjustment is just one of a few recent changes to OG&E customer bills. In March, OG&E customers saw an average increase of about $12.65 on their monthly bill, which was to account for rising fuel costs following the unusually high temperatures in October and November of 2024. This increase followed an average $9.58 monthly rate increase approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission that started in July 2024, which was expected to fund tree trimming and boost a senior discount for the company's SmartHours program. Aaron Cooper, OGE Energy Corp. spokesman, told The Oklahoman in February the rate and fuel increases are offset by three drops in fuel charges between November 2023 and November 2024 that over the 12-month period led to an accumulative monthly drop of $50.37. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OG&E bills going up again: See what's behind the rise in cost
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Maryland legislators ask federal regulators to stop impending energy rate hikes
Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Maryland officials are pushing federal regulators to step in as Baltimore Gas and Electric customers face a $16 monthly bill increase starting June 1. In a letter, the Maryland General Assembly said it was writing to share "grave concerns" about PJM Interconnection is the region's power grid operator. PJM operates the power grid for 13 states including Maryland. The legislators argue that the cost increases slated to take place June 1 are a result of issues in PJM's most recent capacity market auction and inflated payments to Talen Energy for keeping its Maryland plants online. Most notably, they argue that the auction failed to include two active power plants in the Baltimore area, owned by Talen Energy, as part of the available electricity supply. A capacity market auction is a competitive bidding process where power companies promise to make their electricity generation available in the future. According to the legislators, the supply was undercounted - making it seem like less electricity was available, and causing the total cost of electricity across the PJM region to from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion. "The Commission must act expeditiously to acknowledge and remedy the problems with last summer's auction that render the results unjust and unreasonable," the legislators wrote. Maryland continues push back against energy rate hikes BGE implemented a rate hike on January 1, 2025, that increased the average gas bill by 9% and electric bill by 7%. Many customers reported much larger spikes, with some seeing bill increase more than $200 during winter months. BGE attributes the increases to several factors, including distribution costs regulated by the PSC, a sharp 30% year-over-year rise in natural gas prices, increased costs for the state-mandated "Empower Maryland" energy efficiency program, and massive spending on gas infrastructure upgrades. Multi-year rate hike plan Earlier this month, Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen called for transparency over decisions made on the future of BGE's proposed multi-year rate hikes for 2026. In a letter, Cohen said Calvin Butler, CEO of BGE's parent company Exelon, stated that they are anticipating a decision on the "lessons learned" about BGE's rate hikes by the end of the second quarter. If the timeline is accurate, Cohen said he remained extremely concerned that Exelon has access to sensitive information that is not shared with the public, and that the PSC should investigate how the timeline was potentially shared outside the commission and its staff. The Maryland Public Service Commission approved BGE's multi-year delivery rate hikes in 2023, authorizing a total increase of just under $408 million over three years for both gas and electric services.
