A landmark ranking of Australian power prices has found that power prices continue to increase across the country with rises of up to 19 per cent on 2017 prices in some states.
The Australian Power Project has ranked states in the National Electricity Market (NEM) for the fourth quarter in 2018 and found South Australians paid the highest prices with low income earners spending one in every seven dollars of their disposable income on energy.
Australian Power Project CEO Nathan Vass said that "Australian families continue to pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world. Finding a good deal is hard as consumers navigate a minefield of "discounts" and slick advertising campaigns."
"Queensland leads the pack with one of the lowest average bills and better value for money as households used more energy. Low income households were also better off than other states."
"New South Wales had the lowest electricity bills among the states, but households also used 20 per cent less electricity than Queensland, so they get less value for money. Low income households also spent nearly 11 per cent of their disposable income on energy in the state, two per cent more than Queenslanders.
"Electricity prices are regulated in Tasmania but customers in other jurisdictions have lower electricity usage and therefore the Apple Isle has the second highest power bills. A lack of discounts and a high proportion of low income earners' pay packets going towards gas and electricity account for its ranking as third."
"Victorians have the lowest electricity usage in the NEM and the second worst value for money. They also have the most expensive wholesale electricity costs in the market, with a 14 per cent rise since 2017 which the Energy Regulator has attributed to the closure of Hazelwood. Low income earners there are also spending one in every seven dollars on energy."
"South Australia was the worst ranked state with low income households spending up to 14.4 per cent of their disposable income on energy bills, while the year-on-year increase in wholesale prices is around 19 per cent. South Australians also have the highest power bills in the market with $2,194 (ex GST) for the average household" Mr Vass said.
The analysis finds that, states where baseload coal still contributes the most to the generation mix, and sets the price more frequently, have lower wholesale electricity prices and lower power bills for consumers in the NEM. Households in South Australia and Tasmania, with a greater proportion of gas and renewables have the highest annual electricity bills.
The government's Finkel Review found new High Efficiency Low Emissions (HELE) coal fired power stations are cheaper to run than wind, solar with storage, and gas. This off-the-shelf solution would deliver the downwards pressure on power prices that Australian households and businesses need.
The ACCC found that over the ten-year period from 2007–08 to 2017–18 consumers faced a price increase of 56 per cent in real terms. These rises have lead led to 'bill shock' and energy poverty with electricity bills growing well above any measure of inflation or wages.
