Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy increases electricity prices for 230,000 Victorian households

An electricity retailer has raised its Victorian prices for nearly a quarter of a million households. See if you’re affected and watch the video on how to get a better deal.

An electricity retailer owned by the federal government has raised its Victorian prices by about four per cent, adding more than $50 to annual bills for nearly a quarter of a million households.

The move by Snowy Hydro subsidiary Red Energy will eat into the rebate on offer from the federal government in 2025-26, which has been halved to $150.

The price rise is smaller than in other states – in NSW, Red is hiking by 15 per cent, which has been described as “ludicrous”.

But it is a bigger increase that those imposed by rivals such as Origin and EnergyAustralia.

Snowy Hydro said increasing Red Energy’s prices had been a “difficult decision”.

Snowy Hydro retail chief Iain Graham was paid $1.69m in 2023-24. Picture: Australian Made

A spokeswoman said it knew “many households are facing cost of living pressures and we’ve done our best to keep prices as low as possible.

“These increases reflect rising costs such as wholesale and network costs, which make up over 70 per cent of the average bill,” she said.

The Snowy Hydro spokeswoman said its plans would still be competitive.

It is certainly true that Red Energy’s rivals are also raising prices. The biggest increase in Victoria among major suppliers is AGL’s 6.8 per cent.

Red Energy has 232,000 customers in Victoria and more than one million nationally, making it the fourth-largest retailer.

This masthead asked the office of federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen whether he considered Commonwealth-owned Red’s increase was acceptable.

In response to the question, Mr Bowen’s office provided an excerpt from a speech he gave three weeks ago.

The excerpt said the government was working to “deliver a better regulated pricing mechanism which will put downward pressure on electricity bills and also ensure the energy market better utilises the huge uptake of rooftop solar and increasingly batteries.”

Mr Bowen is not in Australia at the moment. He is currently touring the Pacific to “reinforce the government’s commitment to practical climate action and progress discussions on our bid to host COP31 in 2026.”

Chris Bowen promised to lower power prices by $275 by 2025. Picture: Getty Images

COP31 is the world’s biggest clean energy trade fair.

Snowy Hydro’s revenue from retail energy sales rose by 21 per cent in 2023-24, which is the most recent period it has reported. That increase was twice the pace of growth in customer numbers.

Earnings nearly doubled on the previous financial year, to $900m.

Snowy’s head of retail Iain Graham was paid $1.69m in 2023-24, up $350,000 on $1.34m he pocketed the year before.

The company said 2024-25 financial information wasn’t available yet.