Qld consumers to get $50 rebate on power bills
Queenslanders will reap a dividend windfall in the form of a $50 discount to their electricity bills later this year.
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Electricity bills will be slashed by $50 in a dividend windfall for Queenslanders to be delivered later this year.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will today unveil the power bill discount, which will be the sixth round of the asset ownership dividend since her Government came to power.
Ms Palaszczuk said the Government recognised the pressure on household budgets, and was responding with this latest discount.
“Queensland households will receive $50 off their power bills later this year because we own our power assets – the generators, the transmission and the distribution,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Electricity providers will automatically apply the credit, so Queenslanders don’t have to apply. These are assets that belong to Queenslanders.”
The latest dividend comes after the $200 rebate that was delivered in 2020 to help households during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the state’s ownership of the power companies meant the Government was able to return the $50 back to Queenslanders.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep downward pressure on prices,” Mr de Brenni said.
“Every dollar counts right now for Queensland households,” he said.
“We are working on an energy plan that will chart our path to a clean energy future and the jobs that will create for Queenslanders.”
Similar to previous rebates, the $50 will be taken straight off the power bill without the need to apply for it.
Mr de Brenni said the Government was investing more than $2 billion in renewables.
An Australian Energy Market Commission report revealed last year that power prices in South East Queensland are set to drop by $126 over the next three years.
By 2024, the average annual bill is set to be about $1100 – with the forecast drop in costs being attributed to an influx of renewables increasing supply.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said that the rebate was in recognition of the hard work of Queenslanders during the pandemic, as he suggested Queensland was “leading the nation” as it emerged from Omicron.
“It is only right that all Queenslanders get to share in the benefits that brings to our state,” Mr Dick said.
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