Power bills hike set to shock households

THE city’s welfare agencies are preparing for a surge in demand on their services as the full effects of electricity price hikes filter through the community.

THE city's welfare agencies are preparing for a surge in demand on their services as the full effects of electricity price hikes filter through the community.

The Queensland Competition Authority has revealed electricity prices will rise $268 for the average Queenslander, with $73 of that a direct consequence of the price freeze put in place by the Newman Government after its election.

Power will go from $1184 per year at the moment to $1451 after July 1.

The cost of power will go up by 15.9% from 23.07c to 26.73c per kilowatt hour, but the daily access charge is the biggest cost.

The daily charge for accessing power will rise from 26.17c per day to 59.22c per day - an increase of 91.9%.

Lifeline Darling Downs general manager said it would make balancing budgets even harder for middle to lower-income families.

"It will compound an already tough living budget," he said.

"For a lot of families, it means other parts of their budgets, like entertainment and food, will miss out so they can put more money aside.

"The spike won't hit us straight away, but it will be here in three months.

"We will have people walking in with electricity accounts asking us to provide them with assistance."

 For help with paying your bills call Lifeline Darling Downs on 1300 991 443 during business hours.

Originally published as Power bills hike set to shock households