About 34,000 of NSW’s poorest households will save up to $270 a year on power and $145 on gas

About 34,000 of the poorest NSW households will save up to $270 a year on their electricity bills and $145 on gas after a second energy giant gave into government demands to slash prices.

• How to save hundreds on your energy bill
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About 34,000 of the poorest NSW households will save up to $270 a year on their electricity bills and $145 on gas after a second energy giant gave into government demands to slash prices.

EnergyAustralia has announced its concession card customers — about 80,000 households across — would have a 15 per cent discount automatically applied to their bills from January 1.

The Daily Telegraph understands Energy Minister Angus Taylor will demand the company hand discounts to all of its customers in a bid to ensure hundreds of thousands of Australians saw bill relief before the next election.

Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor will demand the company hand discounts to all of its customers in a bid to ensure hundreds of thousands of Australians saw bill relief before the next election.

The EnergyAustralia announcement follows a similar decision by AGL which offered all its customers an automatic discount of 10 per cent on electricity bills after the Morrison government threatened to hit recalcitrant companies with a “big stick”.

That decision would save more than 150,000 household electricity customers across Australia an annual saving of ­between $50 and $180 off the standing offer.

EnergyAustralia chief customer officer Chris Ryan blamed the closure of coal-fired power plants in Victoria and South Australia closed for massive price spikes which had resulted in customers on lower-incomes being “hit hard”.

“Around 10 per cent of our customers are still on basic, full-price rates and it’s costing them a lot of money,” he said.

“We’ll continue to encourage these customers to switch to a better EnergyAustralia deal.

“As we do that, we’ll provide our concession customers, including pensioners, veterans and

healthcare-card holders, who aren’t already on a market offer with a 15 per cent discount —

and they don’t need to do anything to get it.”

About 34,000 NSW households will save up to $270 a year on their electricity bills and $145 on gas.

Mr Taylor said the government welcomed EnergyAustralia’s move to lower standing offers for concessional customers.

“This is further proof the energy companies are hearing the Morrison government’s calls for customers to be put first,” he said.

“I urge the other energy companies to give their customers a better deal.

“The Morrison government’s plans to drive down power prices are delivering for Australian families and small businesses.”

Mr Ryan called on the government to urgently address the problems of the energy system by implementing the recent recommendations of the consumer watchdog.

“It’s not the job of consumers to work out how to fix the energy system,” he said.

“The ACCC has been crystal clear about what it thinks will make the system fairer and bring prices down.

“The first step is developing a comparator rate to make it easier for all customers to compare offers across the market. The energy industry is working with governments and regulators to make it happen.”