Origin Energy imposes big electricity bill increase in NSW

Origin has become the first big energy retailer to reveal how much extra its more than one million NSW power customers will pay from July 1.

More than one million NSW households face an average electricity bill hike of nearly $270 a year from next month, with industry number one Origin Energy raising prices by 14 per cent.

In announcing the increase late on Friday — just before the start of a long weekend — Origin’s retail boss Jon Briskin said the company was “absorbing some of the higher energy costs we’re incurring”.

Wholesale energy costs have surged amid higher global and domestic demand, as well as reduced supply.

The average 14.4 per cent increase applied by Origin is higher than the hike the sector regulator permitted to default offers last month.

Origin is also putting up prices by more in NSW than in Queensland and South Australia. Victorian prices change in January, not July.

Bayswater coal-fired power station. Picture: AAP

Origin has about 30 per cent of the NSW market, which equates to more than one million customers.

The other big players — AGL and EnergyAustralia — are yet to reveal their plans.

AGL’s unknown increases will take effect from August 1, the company said on Friday.

Some small retailers have hiked prices by more than 100 per cent.

The big three retailers are able to absorb some of the impact of rising wholesale prices because they are also in power generation, but being in generation is not without its problems at the moment.

Australian supply has been reduced after outages at generators, most recently AGL’s Bayswater coal-fired plant in NSW.

Global demand for energy has increased as countries emerge from the Covid pandemic.

But there is a shortage of supply, primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.