Energy Regulator to investigate electricity price-gouging claims
THE nation’s energy regulator is poised to launch an urgent investigation into whether poles-and-wires companies are gouging customers by more than $400 million by faking how much they pay in tax every year.
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THE nation’s energy regulator is poised to launch an urgent investigation into whether poles-and-wires companies are gouging customers by more than $400 million by faking how much they pay in tax every year.
The Daily Telegraph understands Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has received Australian Taxation Office advice showing network operators — such as Ausgrid which operates in Sydney — claim to pay much higher tax than they do.
Mr Frydenberg, who will today announce the Australian Energy Regulator probe, said network companies claimed $600 million in tax liabilities but data revealed a gap in the actual tax paid.
“It is totally unacceptable for consumers to be charged for corporate tax liabilities that are not actually incurred,” Mr Frydenberg said. The AER has been asked to investigate further because the ATO’s powers are limited by tax privacy laws.
Networks represent the largest part of power bills, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says.
The investigation is an escalation in long-running tensions between the companies — monopolies operating the poles and wires — and the government, with allegations rife the businesses use their protected status to overclaim costs.