Up to 600,000 households face a power bill increase of at least 20 per cent: Origin Energy
Up to 600,000 households are set to be hit with a power bill increase of at least 20 per cent on July 1.
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Up to 600,000 households are set be hit with a power bill increase of at least 20 per cent on July 1, in a whack that will be confirmed by the energy regulator within days.
Major retailer Origin Energy on Wednesday revealed it expected the default market offer – which puts a price cap on what retailers can charge customers who have not looked for a better deal and remain on standing offers – is likely to leap by 20 per cent or more, adding to the pain of 10 successive interest rate rises and record inflation.
The price jump follows an 18 per cent increase on the default market offer last year.
“It’s going to be a contributor to the cost of living, which we’re acutely aware of in terms of our customer base and supporting those who are less able to pay,” Origin chief executive Frank Calabria said.
Just over 598,000 households have been tied to the default market offer in NSW, southeast Queensland and South Australia, official figures show, with the Australian Energy Regulator due to reveal the final price hike by mid next week. Victoria runs its own scheme known as the Victorian Default Offer.
The price hit signals a volatile winter ahead for Australia’s under-pressure electricity market, with the return of two major coal generators in Queensland delayed by up to six months, a further blow to the state’s energy security nearly two years after a major explosion forced one of the units to shut down.
CS Energy’s Callide C4 coal station suffered major damage from a fire in May 2021 and its owners have been working to bring the unit back into service.
However, the 466 megawatt plant will be delayed until October 30 from a May 1 deadline.
Callide’s C3 coal plant, which was forced offline after a cooling system collapsed, had also had its return date deferred until September 30 from a June 20 target.
The delay has led to in increase in electricity futures prices for this winter of $10 per megawatt hour for the Queensland market, consultancy Energy Edge said.
The lack of coal generation – and the impending shutdown of AGL Energy’s Liddell coal plant in April – has some in the market on edge, given the entire national power grid was suspended during the 2022 winter due, in part, to a lack of coal generation following station breakdowns.
“The outage at Callide C and the impending exit of AGL’s Liddell in three weeks sharpens the focus on the rest of the black and brown coal generator fleet during the coming winter to maintain a strong reliability after a run of forced outages during winter 2022,” Energy Edge managing director Josh Stabler told The Australian.
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said his agency had informed him Queensland had sufficient power for winter and summer.
“I note the advice to the market from CS Energy and we will support their actions to ensure security of supply,” he said.
CS Energy chief executive Andrew Bills announced in February he would step down following his appointment as chief executive of South Australia’s Power Networks.
A statement at the time indicated he would stay on until the organisation found someone to act in the role.
Meanwhile, fresh concern over the availability of gas has also emerged, with Viva Energy forced to delay plans for its proposed Geelong LNG import terminal, seen as a new supply source that would have helped top up supplies amid forecasts of shortages midway through this decade.
Viva on Wednesday confirmed it had received a request from Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny for additional information relating to the project’s expected impact on the marine environment, air quality, noise and Indigenous cultural heritage.
The company said it would review the request before determining the likely impact on project timing, but noted a final investment decision was expected to be delayed.
Viva had intended to make a decision last year, with an aim to start imports by the winter of 2024.
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Originally published as Up to 600,000 households face a power bill increase of at least 20 per cent: Origin Energy
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