Qld power bills to rise as wholesale energy prices hit record high

Queensland households can expect their power bills to rise after a new report revealed the state’s wholesale energy prices surged to an unprecedented record high.

Queensland households can expect their power bills to rise after a new report revealed the state’s wholesale energy prices surged to an unprecedented record high.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s quarterly report, released on Friday, revealed wholesale electricity prices rose to “unprecedented” levels in the second quarter of the year, with Queensland’s cold snap in early June leading to record-breaking energy usage.

Average wholesale electricity prices in Queensland for the quarter ending June 30 was $323MW/h — more than 20 per cent higher than the national average which was itself a tripling of the price from the same time last year.

The war in Ukraine bumping up the cost of fuels, a drop in coal-fired power generation due to maintenance and outages, and supply issues at thermal and hydro generators were key factors in the “extraordinary rise” in prices over the three months to June according to the AEMO.

The report covers the period in June when the AEMO was forced to seize control of the east coast energy market for the first time in its history after days of volatility put several states at risk of blackouts

Uncharacteristically cold temperatures in Queensland sparked record demand for heating, and in turn energy use, with households demanding a whopping 8255MW in a half-hour period in early June — the equivalent of the state’s eight coal stations firing at all cylinders at once.

Green Energy Markets director and energy analyst Tristan Edis said regulated price caps in the National Energy Market — which includes southeast Queensland — meant households could see their bills go up by 11.3 per cent to 20 per cent right now.

But the pain of high fuel costs could be passed on to households to a greater degree next year, with Mr Edis saying it was not “inconceivable” for the average annual power bill to go up by 20 to 30 per cent.

And shopping around for a better deal, which Queenslanders can do on the government’s Energy Made Easy website, may be less effective now as more retailers move to charging the default market offer.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, asked about the AEMO report on Friday, said the federal government was aware of power price pressures on households and businesses but it “can’t fix everything”.

“We are trying to do everything we can to get inflation down, and that includes to get power prices down,” she said.

“But we can’t fix everything. We can’t fix the mess of nine years in office just in nine weeks.”