July 1 is a huge day for changing electricity prices and how it might impact your energy bills.
Australia is in a perfect energy storm with wholesale electricity prices 6 times higher than they were in April 2021. These make up 30-40% of a household’s power bill.
From 1 July, hundreds of thousands of Australians will begin to feel the pain of these electricity prices.
This is because the Australian Energy Regulator will officially pass on rising costs to households when it lifts the reference price by as much as 18.3%.
The reference price (also known as the Default Market Offer or standing offer) is the benchmark price set by the government to help you compare energy plans.
How much are power bills going up by in my QLD?
People living in New South Wales and Queensland are set to be hit the hardest.
Power bills are expected to rise by up to $220 a year, or 12.6 per cent, in south-east Queensland, according to the AER. In regional Queensland — or the rest of the state, apart from the south-east corner — power bills will increase by 9.2 per cent, or around $119 each year, according a report by the Queensland Competition Authority.
Here’s a breakdown of the price increase for other states that falls under the National Electricity Market (NEM).
- New South Wales. Price to go up by 8.5% to 18.3%.
- South Australia. Price to go up by 9.5%.
- Victoria. Price to go up by 5%.
What’s driving the price hikes?
The AER called out a few major factors at play here:
- The war in Ukraine:
- Unplanned outages at coal-fired and gas plants
- Extreme weather conditions
- Increase in network costs in New South Wales
What can I do about rising power bills?
There are a variety of ways and methods to reduce energy usage and your bill.
Check out some of our previous blog articles:
