Government tribunal says consumers should be told before electricity prices are increased
ELECTRICITY companies should be forced to tell consumers before they jack up prices, a government tribunal says, after NSW families suffered huge bill shocks last year.
NSW
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ELECTRICITY companies should be forced to tell consumers before they jack up prices, a government tribunal says, after NSW families suffered huge bill shocks last year.
Households were hit with a “significant” 14 per cent electricity price jump — in some cases 17 per cent for those on fixed plans — but many customers only found out months later, too late to shop around.
The final Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) report into electricity prices found almost a quarter of households were stuck on contracts paying 25 per cent “more than they need to”.
“The variations in price and offers available mean some customers are paying significantly more than others for the same level of usage,” IPART said.
The tribunal called on the state government to work with federal regulators to change laws so retailers must warn customers of price changes. With the average bill for NSW residential customers on standard contracts set about $2100, consumers would have saved $80 immediately had they been told in advance of last year’s price changes in advance, the tribunal calculated.
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Combined Pensioners and Superannuants policy officer Eliza Littleton said those on fixed incomes were not able to budget properly when hit with retrospective price jumps.
“Electricity is essential, it’s not a choice,” Ms Littleton said. “We told IPART electricity companies should be obliged to tell consumers in advance.”
Energy Minister Don Harwin said he was considering the report to “assess if any further action is needed to deliver better outcomes” for consumers.
The IPART report found retailers AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy, which account for 87 per cent of NSW customers, had hiked the costs of standing offers by 10 per cent.