Energy retailers EnergyAustralia, Origin, AGL will hike power prices next financial year

Victorian households will pay even more on their power bills next financial year, with customers of smaller energy retailers warned of an even greater rise.

Victoria’s three biggest electricity retailers will all hike prices by more than 25 per cent next financial year, slugging almost 1.5 million households hundreds of dollars year.

EnergyAustralia is the final of the ‘big three’ firms to reveal their bill increases that will kick in from July for customers on ‘no frills’ default offers and from August 1 for competitive market contracts.

It says the average bill impact across most of its Victorian customers on market contracts — held by the vast majority of households — will be about $482 a year, and is largely due to “sustained increases in the cost of wholesale electricity”.

The Saturday Herald Sun revealed last week that Origin and AGL would hike prices by an average 25.5 per cent, but would increase hardship program assistance for struggling families.

On Friday, AGL — the largest electricity retailer in Victoria and the country’s biggest corporate carbon emitter due to its coal-fired power plants — announced it was heading towards its highest annual profit in three years.

Last week AGL revealed it would hike power prices by an average of 25.5 per cent.

It told shareholders it had revised up profits for the 2023 financial year to $255-285m, and that the following year should see profits of between $580-780m.

This would deliver lucrative returns to shareholders and fund costs related to a transition away from fossil fuels.

The windfall is likely to anger households being hit with rising bills, which have largely been blamed on soaring wholesale prices.

Extra electricity price pain comes on top of soaring gas bills in Victoria, which were expected to rise by hundreds of dollars this winter when people turn on heaters.

Early this year EnergyAustralia said its average household gas price hikes would be worth about $480 a year.

Smaller energy retailers are also preparing to hike power bills, with many set to start alerting their customers of the cost of living pain this month.

Given they have a smaller customer base, energy experts have warned they may be forced to hike market contracts by an even greater percentage than the “big three”.

EnergyAustralia Chief Customer Officer, Mark Brownfield, said: “We know this news will not be welcome for our customers with many Australian households and small businesses continuing to feel pressures from inflation and higher interest rates”.

He said customers “experiencing difficulty paying their energy bill” should contact the company, and that its EnergyAssist program would provide up to $30 million in support to those struggling this year — at about 16 per cent more than in 2022.

“Today’s changes reflect higher prices for wholesale electricity and gas due to energy market volatility in 2022,” Mr Brownfield said.