Qld power rebates land in accounts, energy giants warned against price gouging

Premier Steven Miles has summoned energy retailers to a meeting to warn them against price-gouging as $1000 power bill rebates hit the accounts of Queenslanders.

Premier Steven Miles has summoned energy retailers to a meeting to warn them against price gouging, as $1000 power bill rebates hit the accounts of Queenslanders.

The heads of 29 energy retailers, including state-owned Ergon, have been called up for Friday’s meeting, and Mr Miles said he wanted to make it “really clear that any kind of price gouging simply isn’t acceptable”.

While there is no evidence energy retailers are gaming the system to take advantage of the $1000 rebate, the state government is pointing to anecdotes of general anxiety among the community that companies would behave badly.

Major retailers such as Origin, AGL, Alinta and Energy Australia are set to attend, as will government-owned Ergon Energy.

“The whole idea of our rebates is to make people’s electricity bills cheaper and to support them,” Mr Miles said.

“I’ve written to all of the energy retailer chief executives, and I’ve called them to a meeting where I’m going to be really clear that any kind of price gouging simply isn’t acceptable.

“I want to get them in, face-to-face, and make clear that it’s not good enough.

“Because we own the majority of the generation assets, we own the transmission assets and we’re using the fact that we own them to deliver cash back to Queensland families.

Premier Steven Miles ahead of last month’s state budget

“I want to make sure that cash gets there and makes a difference.”

Queensland was one of only two Australian states where benchmark electricity prices – set by the national regulator – increased on July 1.

The average South East Queensland household on the default market offer was expected to see an annual increase of $83 on their bill before rebates were applied.

In regional Queensland, where prices are set by the Queensland Competition Authority, a typical customer can expect an increase of $96 on their annual bill.

The government said eight of the 29 invited energy retailers had confirmed their chief executive or company representative would be attending the meeting on July 12.

Queensland’s electricity generators returned a dividend of $665m to the state government in 2023-24 according to the latest budget papers, 43 per cent more than expected.

The $1000 election sweetener energy rebate cost the state budget $2.5bn.

The rebate would mean an average household with a power bill of $315 a quarter wouldn’t have to fork out for electricity until March 2025.

Cost-of-living and its intersection with Queensland’s energy system is set to be a point of friction at the upcoming state election, with the government facing ongoing scrutiny over the Callide Power Plant explosion.

Originally published as Qld power rebates land in accounts, energy giants warned against price gouging