Bill pain exposed: report shows soaring energy costs

A new report shows Victorian households have copped energy bill hikes of almost $300 in the past year, with the St Vincent de Paul Society saying families should be “the grinch” to their gas and power retailers this Christmas.

Victorian families in homes using average amounts of energy have copped bill hikes worth almost $300 in the past year, a new analysis shows.

The report on energy prices and trends shows that competitive or “market” deals, which most families have, soared by 8 per cent in the electricity sector and about 7 per cent for gas.

For dual fuel households this works out to an average of $112 for electricity and $176 for gas, or $288 in total.

As those costs hit home, combined energy bill costs for families using a typical amount of power and gas now average $4435 a year in parts of the state.

Some of the pain was masked by a federal bill credit scheme worth up to $150, which was designed to soften hikes across essential services but expires at the end of this year.

The new analysis, by St Vincent de Paul Society and Alviss Consulting, shows cheaper competitive deals have been jacked up at the same time as default offers – which only a small proportion of Victorians are on – stayed flat.

It also shows that major savings could be made by switching to a better deal, with the difference between the best and worst market offers ranging worth at least $970.

“This is much higher than it was a year ago (July 2024), when the maximum saving was $435-$615 per annum,” the report says.

St Vincent de Paul Society national policy manager, Gavin Dufty, said it was critical to shop around for the best offer, and urged people to get in ahead of Christmas and the New Year when belts can tighten.

“Now is a great time to be the grinch to your energy retailer,” he said.

“While market offers on average have gone up, they are still below the Victorian default offer. But the best energy offers don’t automatically come to you, so now is a great time to refresh your electricity and gas accounts.

There has been a rise of about 7 per cent for gas. Picture: David Crosling

Elecricity prices have soared by 8 per cent. Picture: Supplied

“If you’ve got a healthcare card or a pension card, make sure you get your energy concession.”

The annual tariff tracker report says total energy costs have increased the most for dual fuel households in the CBD, inner city and north eastern suburbs, while families in the state’s west and central highlands have had smaller hikes.

It also shows that dual fuel customers in the La Trobe Valley and Sale in the Gippsland region have the highest combined energy bills – about $4435 for a typical consumption household.

Total energy costs have increased the most for dual fuel households in the CBD, inner city and north eastern suburbs. Picture: Supplied

Solar customers with a 3kW system will save $660-845 a year compared to non-solar customers with the same consumption levels, while network charges — the high voltage systems that transport electricity from generators to power lines — continue to rise.

Originally published as Bill pain exposed: report shows soaring energy costs