Advanced Search

Share Coverage



Category: Electricity Energy and Utilities / Community and Society / Charities and Community Organisations

Annual power bills likely to increase by almost $200: ACT regulator

15:58 UTC+8 March 28, 2017

ACT power bills look likely to rise in the new financial year. (ABC News: Damien Larkins/file photo)

Power bills in Canberra are likely to increase by almost $200 on average over the coming financial year, according to the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

And some of the community's most vulnerable are bracing for impact.

A draft report released today by the ICRC, which regulates Canberra's power prices, said household electricity bills were likely to go up by 10.9 per cent in 2017-18.

For an average residential household using about 8,000kWh annual — that equates to an extra $191 a year, or $3.68 a week, under the draft pricing determinations.

The ICRC said the price hike was driven by a steep increase in wholesale electricity costs over the past 12 months — and for the most part, was outside supplier ActewAGL Retail's control.

Since June last year forward prices for wholesale electricity have more than doubled.

A similar warning about power bill increases from the Australian Energy Market Commission last year pointed to the Federal Government's renewable energy target and the closure of Victoria's Hazelwood coal-fired power station as the likely causes.

Small hikes can mean 'extreme financial hardship'

The ICRC said today's figures should be treated as "indicative" — warning if the wholesale price of electricity remained high, the increase in household bills could be even higher.

Susan Helyar, director of the ACT Council of Social Services, said there were many people in the community with budgets that could not cope with even a creeping increase in the basic costs of living.

A smiling woman stands in park. Photo: ACTCOSS director Susan Helyar says for families already doing it tough, bigger power bills mean more stress. (ABC News: Tom Storey)

"An increase of up to $200 a year on electricity, isn't a lot across the whole year," she said.

"But for budgets that are already really tight, and for people that are already compromising on spending on health, spending on education, and keeping food on the table, even small increases can put people into extreme financial hardship.

"The need to heat housing for a long period through the middle of the year does put households into financial distress."

Ms Helyar said she understood the power industry was going through a significant period of disruption, but it needed to get to the point where it was generating energy in a sustainable way.

"ACTCOSS recognises the need to transition from unsustainable production of energy to more sustainable energy sources," she said.

"But we really need to make sure that low-income customers don't carry an unfair burden in that transition."

Rumblings of people 'doing it tough'

The draft report places a limit on ActewAGL's profit margins and does not allow for a customer acquisition and retention cost allowance to be charged to consumers.

A man sits behind a desk. Photo: ICRC chair Joe Dimasi says the commission is working to keep power prices affordable. (ABC News: Tom Storey)

ICRC senior commissioner Joe Dimasi said the commission was doing what it could to make sure price increases were kept to a minimum.

He said the ICRC understood the likely price hikes were "big changes for small consumers to be able to accept".

"It's probably going to be small comfort for consumers in Canberra and the ACT to know that they are still going to be facing the lowest prices in the country," he said.

The ICRC is seeking comment on the draft report until April 28.

AustraliaPlus


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend