Snowy Hydro owned energy companies to cut electricity bills by 10 per cent

Two more power companies will today commit to slashing bills by 10 per cent from next year, saving thousands of customers hundreds of dollars a year as the Morrison government braces for more major electricity price announcements.

• 34,000 households to save hundreds on power
• Summer to put more pressure on power systems

Two more power companies will today commit to slashing bills by 10 per cent, saving thousands of customers hundreds of dollars a year.

It comes as the Morrison government braces for more major electricity price announcements today that will be a litmus test on its pledge to put cash back in household pockets.

Red Energy and Lumo Energy — owned by Snowy Hydro — will offer all electricity customers on standing offers an automatic 10 per cent discount from January 1.

The cut will work out to be an average saving of $270 a year.

The Morrison government has pledged to put cash back in household pockets. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

MORE NEWS

Woman sentenced after Sydney hotel bashing

Why Wayne Bennett is NRL’s most powerful man

Grope charges dismissed against 96-year-old with dementia

Snowy chief executive Paul Broad also pledged to demand the government act to overturn a “stupid” rule which was forcing retailers to move customers on to the more expensive standing offer once their market contract had expired.

Between Red Energy and Lumo Energy about 6000 customers are currently affected.

Mr Broad said that in some cases, the standing offer was 20 per cent higher than the market contract but that fact was not taken into account by the Australian Energy Regulator, which requires retailers to roll customers onto standing offers unless the customer provides their explicit consent to take a better deal.

A number of companies have now cut prices by up to 15 per cent. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

“All it did was make our customers cranky. Consumers are being done in the eye again by a regulator,” he said.

Red Energy boss Iain Graham said regardless of the regulation “we want to provide these customers with a better deal and are therefore delivering them an unconditional 10 per cent saving on their electricity bills.

“We don’t want these customers to be disadvantaged.”

Every energy retailer will today submit the prices they plan to charge customers in Victoria from next year.

Victorian power prices are set by calendar year, while in the rest of the country, it is by financial year.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor is set to announce weather experts will be embedded into control rooms to ensure there are no blackouts this summer. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

It will be a major test whether Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s threat to hit power companies with a “big stick” if they did not pass on wholesale savings had worked.

“Wholesale costs have come down from their peaks and we expect that to be passed on to customers,” Mr Taylor said.

Earlier this week, EnergyAustralia joined a growing list of retailers to offer households and businesses discounts of up to 15 per cent. Mr Taylor said the government was delighted Snowy Hydro recognised that customers deserve a better deal.

Mr Taylor will also announce today that weather experts will be embedded within the energy market operator control room to ensure NSW avoids blackouts this summer.

Senior meteorologists will work hand-in-hand with the Australian Energy Market Operator to prepare for weather events such as major storms, like the extreme conditions the state faced this week, or heatwaves which can have an impact on electricity supply.