Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged an aggressive regulatory crackdown in the energy markets after the budget revealed households would be whacked with a 56 per cent increase in power bills over the next two years, leaving Labor’s promise to cut electricity bills by $275 all but dead.

Electricity and gas will rise sharply as the cost is passed on to households, the budget said, with power bills set to rise 20 per cent in the second half of 2022 and a further 30 per cent in 2023-24.