NT government axes planned power price hike for thousands of households
‘Not the right time to be slugging Territorians’: Thousands of NT households have dodged a Christmas power bill punch after the government axed tariff increases that would have hit super users.
The Northern Territory government has axed plans to hike power prices for thousands of ‘super user’ households in the new year, but has not ruled out increasing tariffs in the future.
New time-of-use electricity tariffs for households and small businesses will be introduced on January 1, however the CLP government decided not to move forward with a tiered pricing scheme previously set to begin at the same time.
That scheme would have seen around 6800 high use customers charged at a higher rate on usage above 55kWh per day averaged over a billing period, equal to the rate applied to small businesses.
Treasurer Bill Yan said it was not the right time to add further sting to power bills, after the federal government announced it would end its energy rebates.
“It’s certainly not the right time of the year to be slugging Territorians, it’s not the right thing to do, two weeks leading into Christmas, to put people’s power prices up,” he said.
“In light of the Commonwealth government decision to stop providing their energy bill relief to Australians, the CLP government has made the decision to not move forward with the household tiered pricing system at this time.”
He said the loss in revenue would be about $1.5m, and households would be spared an extra $50-$60 in their quarterly bill.
Data shows super users spread across the Territory, and most concentrated in the Darwin region.
Top regions were Alice Springs (732 super users), Humpty Doo (388), Howard Springs (269), Katherine (266), Girraween (156), Darwin City (155) and Rosebery (149).
Mr Yan said many households may be surprised to find out they made the list.
“It’s actually quite widespread – large households, airconditioning, pools, that all starts to drive those kilowatt hours up.
“Now with a more time, we can start to work with some of those individuals to discuss and have those initial conversations about how they’re using power, how they could better use it and hopefully reduce the usage and reduce their bills.”
Time-of-use tariffs will offer savings for power use during lower demand period from 9am to 3pm each day, and encouraging the growth of rooftop solar and battery systems.
About 1300 small businesses and 6500 households will be able to opt in.
“It’s about giving customers a choice to save money by using electricity in a way that supports the grid,” Mr Yan said.
“Running the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and pool pump when power demand is low will then see some good savings.”
More Coverage
Originally published as NT government axes planned power price hike for thousands of households
Replay: Districts back in the wins with dominant showing
