Following continuous increases in the cost of wholesale electricity, EnergyAustralia has announced that electricity prices will increase for households and small businesses on Variable Market Contracts. The increase will impact customers in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Queensland.
Key Variable Market Contract electricity price changes by State effective 1 March 2023
Residential
- Australian Capital Territory – 10.2 per cent or around $221 per year on average
- New South Wales – 12.4 per cent or around $276 per year on average
- Queensland – 14.1 per cent or around $301 per year on average
- South Australia – 10.9 per cent or around $252 per year on average
Small-to-Medium Size Business
- Australian Capital Territory – 9.2 per cent or around $604 per year on average
- New South Wales – 9.7 per cent or around $552 per year on average
- Queensland – 12.5 per cent or around $641 per year on average
- South Australia – 9.7 per cent or around $516 per year on average
Note: average dollar increases include GST.
EnergyAustralia Chief Customer Officer, Mark Brownfield, said it was a perfect storm of issues during 2022 that has resulted in higher costs for wholesale electricity.
“These issues include the sustained impact of the war in Ukraine on energy prices, extreme weather conditions and coal supply issues, along with some increases in market administration costs,” Mr Brownfield said.
“At the same time, we are continuing to work hard to introduce as much fuel and generation supply to the system as possible. We know increased supply of electricity helps avoid high wholesale costs, particularly at times of peak demand, and in turn this reduces pressure on retail electricity prices.
“We acknowledge recent government intervention aimed at lowering the wholesale price of coal and gas over the medium term. We are working with governments and with coal and gas producers to implement these interventions to help minimise future impacts on retail prices for customers.
“For customers who might be struggling to pay their energy bill, we want them to please get in touch with us as early as possible. There are things we can do to help, such as payment plans, payment extensions, our staying-connected guarantee and access to cashflow assistance for small businesses. There may also be opportunities for more cost-effective energy plans with EnergyAustralia,” Mr Brownfield said.
EnergyAustralia customers experiencing financial difficulty are encouraged to contact EnergyAustralia for support.
Energy Australia called me on 15 February and asked to come back to them promising rates approx. $0.90 supply and $0.36 usage. I agreed to join them and a week later they sent me information about much higher new rates from the 1st March.