Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy imposes big electricity price rise in NSW

An electricity retailer owned by the federal government has raised its NSW prices by a whopping 15 per cent. See if you’re affected and watch the video on how to get a better deal.

Exclusive: An electricity retailer owned by the federal government has raised its NSW prices by a whopping 15 per cent, adding an average of $330 to annual bills for nearly half a million customers.

The increase by Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy surpasses AGL’s 13.5 per cent to be the biggest of any other major supplier.

The move by Red, which is the fourth-largest power retailer in the nation, also confirms that NSW has been the hardest hit state in the latest round of bill hikes.

The increase will completely consume the $150 rebate on offer from the federal government in 2025-26, which is down from $300 last financial year.

And it will leave many paying annual bills that are $1000 higher than in 2021, when Anthony Albanese vowed to cut costs by $275 by 2025.

Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen in 2021 with the document that claimed prices would fall $275. Picture: Gaye Gerard

For many who are struggling to keep the lights on there will be a triple-whammy, because the Minns government has quietly wound back state subsidies.

For example, the low income household rebate will fall to $285 for 2025-26, down from $350. That saves Macquarie St about $55m. Seniors and medical energy rebates have also been reduced.

A spokeswoman for NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the rebates had been “returned to previous levels, following a $100m boost in 2024-25.”

Snowy Hydro said increasing Red Energy’s prices had been a “difficult decision”.

A spokeswoman said it knew “many households are facing cost of living pressures and we’ve done our best to keep prices as low as possible.

“These increases reflect rising costs such as wholesale and network costs, which make up over 70 per cent of the average bill,” she said.

The spokeswoman attempted to further justify the hike arguing it wasn’t a “year on year increase”.

“Many of our customers who are on market offers have not had an increase in their electricity bill for two years,” she said, adding that Red’s plans would still be competitive.

It is certainly true that rivals have also been ratcheting up their rates.

As previously revealed by this masthead, AGL has hiked prices by 13.5 per cent while Alinta has raised its charges by 11.5 per cent. Origin is putting up its tariffs by 9.1 per cent and EnergyAustralia is adding 8.7 per cent.

The increases in NSW are bigger than in other parts of Australia for reasons including a steeper rise in 2025-26 network costs, which are recouped through bills. In NSW, hundreds of millions of dollars has also been added on to pay for work on renewable energy zones.

Red Energy has 474,000 customers in NSW.

Many are seething after receiving price change notices.

“Either withdraw these increases, or expect a lot of flack and departures,” customer Rob Farr wrote on Red Energy’s Facebook page.

Another, Maarten van Valen, said: “It’s a shame because you’re a good company but goodbye Red Energy.”

“Will definitely be looking for a new supplier,” wrote Sean Ward.

“67-cent increase on daily service to property rate is ludicrous,” said customer Alexander Ware. “Looks like I’ll find a new provider.”

This masthead asked the office of federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen whether he considered Commonwealth-owned Red’s increase was acceptable.

In response to the question, Mr Bowen’s office provided an excerpt from a speech he gave three weeks ago.

The excerpt said the government was working to “deliver a better regulated pricing mechanism which will put downward pressure on electricity bills and also ensure the energy market better utilises the huge uptake of rooftop solar and increasingly batteries.”

Power bills have soared under Chris Bowen. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Bowen is not in Australia at the moment. He is currently touring the Pacific to “reinforce the government’s commitment to practical climate action and progress discussions on our bid to host COP31 in 2026.”

COP31 is the world’s biggest clean energy trade fair.

Snowy Hydro’s revenue from retail energy sales rose by 21 per cent in 2023-24, which is the most recent period it has reported. That increase was twice the pace of growth in customer numbers.

Earnings nearly doubled on the previous financial year, to $900m.

Snowy’s head of retail Iain Graham was paid $1.69m in 2023-24, up $350,000 on $1.34m he pocketed the year before.

The company said 2024-25 financial information wasn’t available yet.

Originally published as Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy imposes big electricity price rise in NSW