Latest news with #powerbill
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Energy bills to rise by up to 9.7% as Australian regulators approve price increases
Power bill increases of upwards of 9% have been locked in for some Australian households as energy regulators make a final call on safety net prices. Caps on what retailers can charge households and businesses in NSW, South Australia, southeast Queensland and Victoria are designed to protect the hundreds of thousands of customers who tend to set-and-forget their power plans. Roughly 9% of households and 18% of small businesses are on default market offers. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email NSW customers on standing offers face the steepest price growth of somewhere between 8.3% to 9.7%, depending on their network area. Some users in the state could be slugged with an $280 extra annually from 1 July. Regulators update default market offers to reflect the cost retailers are paying generators for electricity and to have it transported through poles and wires. Australian Energy Regulator (AER) chair Clare Savage said NSW was experiencing bigger increases in wholesale costs and transmission than other states. 'In NSW we've seen some unexpected outages of coal-fired power stations, which can drive up that wholesale cost,' Savage told ABC Radio on Monday. She also flagged boosted investment in networks to make them more resilient to cyber attack and climate risks, such as the floods devastating parts of NSW. Other states covered by the AER's remit are in line for more modest increases, though Savage said wholesale and network costs rose in most jurisdictions. Residential customers on default plans in southeast Queensland can expect hikes of anywhere between 0.5% and 3.7%, while people in South Australia face rises of 2.3% to 3.2%. Victorian households can expect a modest 1% average bump, according to the Essential Services Commission, with some distribution zones actually in line for small drops in prices. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Households and businesses nervous about energy bill hikes have been urged to shop around, with 80% of customers likely to save money by chasing better deals. The energy minister, Chris Bowen, acknowledged power prices were putting pressure on households and businesses, pointing to extended bill relief in the last budget. 'It's clear energy bills for Australians remain too high, and we're providing help for people doing it tough as we deliver longer term reform.' He also urged people to shop around, with savings of up to 27% possible by switching to a competitive market plan. Energy Consumers Australia chief executive officer Brendan French said the safety net system was not working effectively if priced as much as 27% above market offers. 'The sector should be focused on reducing costs at all stages of the supply chain, and making networks as efficient as possible, otherwise consumers risk losing the benefits of the energy transition,' French said.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Energy bill fears mount amid transmission cost blowout
A blowout in costs to build poles and wires could trigger an increase in household power bills, according to The Australian. Australia's Energy Market Operator reports overhead transmission line costs have surged by 55 per cent and substations by 35 per cent. The rises are attributed, in part, to the decision to avoid 'particularly complex areas' as the Labor government attempts to win over rural communities in the transmission rollout. A final price hike for 2025 to 2026 will be signed off by the energy regulator today.
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Making it harder': Energy providers accused of deceptive practice
Australian consumers are getting ripped off $171 a year on their power bills due to remarkably simple trick by the electricity providers. According to research by Choice, Australians are getting ripped off by their power company due to deliberately confusing names. Choice alleges electricity providers are using the same name on two different energy plans, meaning unexpected Aussies are paying more for their power than they need to. Choice chief executive Ashley de Silva said it shouldn't be this hard to know if you're being ripped off on your energy bill. 'The potential impact of this practice is significant,' says De Silva. 'Choice estimates that reusing identical names for plans with differing prices could, in aggregate, be costing consumers approximately $65 million in savings.' In a lodgement to the ACCC the consumer group claims electricity providers deliberately make it harder for Australians to switch plans. The Australian Energy Regulator added a requirement in September 2023, forcing the energy retailers to make it easier for consumers to understand. As part of these changes power companies have to tell customers on their bills if they have a cheaper plan available and how much they could save by switching. The guideline requires a compulsory 'better offer' statement on the first page of the bill, under the heading 'Could you save money on another plan?' Choice claims to have collected almost 400 energy bills from January to March 2025, finding 64 energy plans have identical names. As such, Choice alleges Australians believe they are on the cheapest plan possible and are paying more than they should for electricity. 'Across these 64 examples, people could have saved an average of $171 annually had they switched to the cheaper plan, even though it had the same name. 'The highest potential savings amongst these examples was $588 per year.' Ms De Silva said the energy market is already difficult for Aussie households to navigate without the need for misleading practices such as using the same name on plans. 'At a time when we're all looking for ways to save, energy companies are making it harder and harder to know what you're paying and why,' De Silva said. 'This practice is extremely confusing, and potentially misleading or deceptive. 'Supporters who shared their bills with CHOICE often thought that the offer to save money by switching to a plan with an identical name was a mistake, and likely missed out on significant savings.' The submission to the ACCC comes on the eve of millions of Australians paying more for their power. Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has released its latest default market offer (DMO) draft determination in April which is the maximum households living in NSW, South Australia and South East Queensland will be paying. Under the draft, households' power bills could rise between 2.5 and 8.9 per cent depending on where a person lives.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Electricity bill relief payments for Tasmanians set to be mostly negated by price rises
Tasmanian electricity customers are receiving some power bill relief in the form of a state government one-off $60 payment — but it will arrive just as power prices are set to rise. Every year, the state-owned power company Hydro Tasmania makes a dividend payment from its profits to the Tasmanian government. Any year that dividend is larger than $90 million, a share of the money above that limit is then paid to Tasmanian taxpayers. The most recent dividend to the government was $122 million, so Tasmanian energy customers will each get a one-off $60 payment credited to their electricity accounts, starting this month. Spruiking the payments, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said paying power bills had been challenging for all Tasmanian households and they should be able to share in the benefits when Hydro was doing well. While households will no doubt welcome the $60, in a few weeks electricity prices are set to go up by about 2 per cent, which would mean most of the one-off payment is used to cover the increase. The Tasmanian Economic Regulator said this week that residential bills for average customers will grow by about $49 per year, in the coming financial year. Annual bills for small businesses will increase by between $11 and $159, depending on usage and the type of tariff. Marc White, from Goanna Energy Consulting, said the $60 payments were a good thing for households. "We're very lucky to get that dividend, certainly Hydro's profit and loss is going to be under pressure this year with the very low inflows and the requirement to run the Tamar Valley Power Station," he said. "It's a positive for the community and this financial year will be a bit tougher." Mr White said the "reasonable" 2.13 per cent power price increase for 2025-26 is largely driven by increased network costs, which are only set to grow. "The TasNetworks costs regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator are set to increase substantially over the coming years, but fortunately for this determination, Hydro Tasmania energy costs have come down to offset those network costs," he said. Mr White said the ongoing transition to renewable energy around the country would mean substantial bill increases in the years ahead. "All states are facing these massive investments in the transmission network to get the new renewable energy to where it needs to go and Tasmania is not immune from some of those investments," he said. "In the transition, you're paying for both sets of assets — you're paying for existing assets and your building new assets and that's the expensive part of the process — so we're expecting a bumpy ride as we transition to renewables." Mr White said in the long term, the hope was that electricity would become cheaper than it would have been without a transition to renewable energy.
