ReAmped Energy increases usage charges by as much as 43 per cent; flags rivals will follow

Customers of one electricity retailer will see prices hike by as much as 43 per cent, with other companies warning they will have no choice but to follow suit.

A round of super-sized power price increases has begun, with a formerly market-leading retailer hiking usage charges by as much as 43 per cent due to soaring wholesale electricity costs.

ReAmped, which has more than 80,000 customers, this week emailed customers to notify them of the price jump, saying it was “unavoidable due to the extremely elevated wholesale rates now being seen in Australia.

“This is a challenge we expect all retailers to face in the weeks and months ahead,” ReAmped CEO Luke Blincoe said in the email.

That’s further bad news for households already dealing with surging petrol and food prices, along with the first official interest rate increase since 2010.

ReAmped’s hike was identified by One Big Switch’s Joel Gibson. Picture: The Daily Telegraph

It’s also a potential pain point for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has been talking up the 10 per cent fall in electricity prices since he came to power.

A ReAmped email seen by The Daily Telegraph flagged usage rates increasing from about 17.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 25c/kWh – a lift of 43.2 per cent. There was a reduction in that customer’s daily connection charge, which is the other component of a bill.

A different ReAmped customer email showed their usage rates increasing from 17.6c/kWh to 22c/kWh. That customer’s daily connection rate also fell.

ReAmped told The Telegraph the 43 per cent usage charge increase was an “extreme” example and that the average bill rise faced by its customers would be about 15 per cent.

The big three retailers – AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin – told The Telegraph they would announce new prices in mid June.

An electricity retailer has hiked charges by as much as 43 per cent and warned that competitors will have no choice but to follow suit.

Because the trio own power generation assets, they may hike by less. But their starting prices are typically higher than some minnows in the first place.

ReAmped said the wholesale energy cost spike had been caused by a “perfect storm” of factors including greater demand for coal, gas and oil in the Covid-19 recovery along with the Ukraine conflict.

Wholesale energy costs account for about a third of a total bill; network costs are 45 per cent of the total.

The ReAmped price increase was first identified by One Big Switch, whose spokesman Joel Gibson said: “This is just the beginning, unfortunately.

“If you’re not prepared to shop around and switch this year, your power bill could end up ballooning by hundreds of dollars, on top of groceries, petrol and mortgage increases.”

Originally published as ReAmped Energy increases usage charges by as much as 43 per cent; flags rivals will follow