Electricity prices have gone up three times more than wage growth
POWER price hikes have risen at three times the rate of wage growth in a decade as experts fear more NSW families could have electricity disconnected this summer.
NSW
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POWER price hikes have tripled wage growth in the past decade with experts fearing more NSW families could have their electricity disconnected this summer.
New data shows the average annual electricity bill has jumped 116 per cent from $1282 in 2007 to $2770 in 2017, while the median wage has grown just 35 per cent from $59,723 to $80,382.
The figures, compiled exclusively for The Daily Telegraph by price comparison firm Finder, reveal the average bill jumped 10.5 per cent in the past year alone, while wages grew just 2.2 per cent.
Analysis shows the portion of wages workers are spending on their bills has grown more than 60 per cent in those 10 years.
Experts are worried residents forced to spend a bigger chunk of their wages on electricity could risk disconnections this summer as airconditioner use pushes consumers’ bills even higher.
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While state and federal politicians remain divided on how to tackle soaring power prices, figures from the Australian Energy Regulator show that from 2014 to 2017 the number of customers on hardship programs has risen from 18,293 to 24,921. The number of customers with bill debt has also jumped almost 20,000 in the past year, with 85,801 customers now in debt compared with 68,487 last year.
In the last financial quarter there were 7775 electricity disconnections in NSW and 1908 households with their gas cut off.
Finder editor Angus Kidman said a recent survey by the company showed that one in seven families was struggling to pay their electricity bills, and 60 per cent thought prices were simply too expensive.
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“Wages aren’t rising by much more than inflation while electricity prices are soaring, which means Aussie families are getting caught up by price hikes,” he said.
Ermington couple Julia Davies and Gary Donnelly’s bill rose from $263 to $313 in the most recent quarter.
Ms Davies, who is studying law, said they were gobsmacked when they got their last bill.
“There’s just the two of us and we live in an apartment so you wouldn’t think it would be that much,” she said. “In the past few years, though, prices do seem to keep going up.”
Ms Davies said she’d like the government to explore sustainable options to bring down prices.