Palaszczuk Government ‘overcharging’ Queenslanders $460 a year

A “sophisticated scam” run by the State Government has pushed up power prices so much that Queenslanders could be saving the equivalent of an entire quarterly bill.

A “SOPHISTICATED scam” run by the State Government has pushed up power prices so much that Queenslanders could be saving the equivalent of an entire quarterly bill.

Igniting a fresh war over household power bills ahead of the next federal election, the LNP has revealed new analysis it claims shows Queenslanders are paying at least $460 a year too much.

The “rip-off’’ correlates with a Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) report, which found southeast Queensland households could save $419 a year if the Palaszczuk Government adopted some of the watchdog’s recommendations by 2020.

The LNP’s attack centres on busting the myths of how electricity is charged, and is being spearheaded by Fairfax MP Ted O’Brien on behalf of his 26 “Team Queensland” federal colleagues.

$2.3b power boost to bottom line

 

Team Queensland MPs will today write to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk demanding she sacrifice her Budget coffers and adopt ACCC recommendations that would dramatically reduce power bills. The State Government has a monopoly on Queensland’s power generators and poles and wires. The lack of competition has sparked the ACCC to urge the State Government to divide its generation utilities from two, Ergon and Energex, to three.

Mr O’Brien’s detailed analysis accuses the Palaszczuk Government of running the equivalent of a “money-laundering scheme”, slugging households with “secret taxes” and keeping competition out to charge more. He said customers were being treated as mugs because:

● The State Government has over-invested about $7 billion in “gold-plated” power company networks. The more the network is valued, the more customers can be charged for power bills.

On top of that is the extra money a power utility can extract from households for investment. By writing down their regulated assets like poles and wires — as recommended by the ACCC — and reducing money returned to the power utility for their investments, Queenslanders could save about $60 a quarter.

● Households are ultimately being charged $1 billion a year for interest payments because the Queensland Government forces state-owned utilities into debt by making them unnecessarily borrow from its finance arm. It then demands special dividends be paid from that debt back to the Government. Cracking down on the “dodgy debts” could wipe off $22 a quarter.

● Wholesale prices have dropped by 40 per cent from this year but not even 2 per cent has been passed on to households from power utilities. If just 12 per cent was passed through, a quarterly power bill should be cut by another $20. Dropping those costs would mean a flow-on in reductions in retail costs, about $11 a quarter.

 

Mr O’Brien said the average quarterly bill in southeast Queensland was about $468, but it could be as cheap as $352 — a saving of about $460 a year.

Queensland’s Auditor-General Brendan Worrall yesterday handed down a report showing the combined profits of state-owned utilities increased by tens of millions in the past financial year.

Profits would have been higher but the Australian Energy Regulator reduced how much Ergon and Energex could earn.

Kenilworth Country Bakery owner Jenna Sanders said her quarterly power bill had exploded from $5800 in June last year to about $8000.

Fairfax MP Ted O'Brien says Queenslanders are paying too much for power. Picture: Lachie Millard

Queensland Energy Minister Anthony Lynham said the Government had introduced policies to reduce prices.

“Ongoing ownership of Queensland’s electricity assets has allowed households to receive the first of two annual $50 dividend payments on their bills,’’ he said.

Mother of four Bronwen Morgan, 35, said power prices were hurting. “Everyone thinks power prices are too high,” she said. “It all adds up to making the cost of living more challenging.”