Power bills to go up $100 a year in Queensland

South East Queensland households can expect their power bills to go up within months, with already struggling small businesses not spared from price hikes.

The cost of power is rising again.

South East Queensland power prices will rise by more than a $100 a year from July – marking a staggering 33 per cent increase in the four years since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said costs would fall.

And in a double whammy for households, generous power rebates that were a hallmark of the previous Labor state government are unlikely to eventuate in Queensland’s next budget.

The Australian Energy Regulator, in its draft decision on electricity prices, revealed South East Queenslanders can expect a power price hike of $119 a year. That 5.8 per cent rise means an annual electricity bill has gone from $1455 a year in the 2021-22 financial year to $2185 annually from July – a $730 increase.

This despite Mr Albanese’s promise in late 2021 that a federal Labor government would lower bills by $275 a year by pushing wholesale energy prices down through an increased supply of renewables.

Electricity pylons during dusk evening sky sunset. Energy generic

The AER decision prompted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to call for Energy Minister Chris Bowen to be sacked, with Mr Dutton declaring him a “disaster” and “total failure”.

“Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese have presided over a broken promise of a $275 electricity cut, which was made on 97 occasions before the election,” he said.

Mr Bowen said the AER had found unreliable coal generation, and low solar and wind output, were factors increasing prices for consumers.

He also said the Australian Energy Market Commission had projected residential prices would fall by 13 per cent over the next 10 years if investment in renewables and related infrastructure continues, consistent with Labor’s plan.

“It’s clear energy bills for Australians remain too high, and we’re providing help for people doing it tough as we deliver longer term reform,” Mr Bowen said.

The price hike will hit households just as the $1000 state rebates – which cost taxpayers $2.5bn – run out. Federal government help of $75 a quarter is also due to expire in July.

Katter’s Australian Party Member for Traeger Robbie Katter said the state government should not consider further rebates to subsidise increased power bills, because it did not fix the underlying issue.

“It’s nice to say but that’s putting a Band-Aid over a bullet wound,” Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter blamed renewable energy projects for increased power prices rather than wages and staff numbers.

He said households were paying for the Australian Government’s determination to solve the world’s climate crisis.

“It’s been rushed in and ideologically driven,” he said.

“People better make a choice that they all want to save a planet or save power but you can’t have both.”

Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki, amid worsening state debt, has repeatedly signalled power rebates won’t be included in the LNP’s budget.

On Thursday, he again refused to commit to more rebates, and instead emphasised a commitment to “affordable and reliable supply”.

The default market offer is the maximum a customer in the southeast can be charged if they don’t shop around for better deals – a ceiling that currently impacts about 130,000 households.

Households in parts of NSW including the Hunter and the Central Coast – linked to distributor Ausgrid – will see their bills increased by $159 under the default market offer, securing bills of $1969 a year.

The highest default market offer is $2713 a year for households – a $200 increase compared with the previous year – carried by customers of major NSW electricity distributor Essential Energy.

South East Queensland small businesses can expect a $178 a year bill increase – or a 4.2 per cent annual hike – for a total annual bill of $4439.

Originally published as Power bills to go up $100 a year in Queensland