Labor calls for cap on power bills as big price hikes loom

The average household could be paying $500 a year more for power from July, Labor claims as they call for a cap on power bills.

Labor's Dean Winter speaks to the media at Kangaroo Bay in Hobart on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

THE number of Tasmanians struggling to pay their power bills has doubled in a year as further price spikes loom, Labor says.

It comes as the state’s peak welfare group on Wednesday called for $33m in planned energy bill relief to be fast-tracked as households struggle with cost-of-living pressures.

Opposition energy spokesman Dean Winter wants a price cap to head off the 20 per cent power price rises predicted for this year – and for the state to leave the National Electricity Market so locals can pay local prices rather than be tied to interstate tariffs.

“If the government does nothing then next financial year the average increase for power bills in Tasmania will be $500. That is far too much,” Mr Winter said.

He cited data from the Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator showing a big increase in the number of Tasmanian power customers struggling to pay their bills after last year’s 12 per cent price rise.

“The number of Tasmanians doing it hard when it comes to power prices continues to go up,” he said.

“There’s now 19,000 Tasmanians who are now recording energy debt, according to the government’s own numbers, and that’s increased by 94 per cent over the past 12 months.

“We know that the 12 per cent power price increase that the government allowed to happen last year is really hurting households and it’s really hurting businesses.”

Acting TasCOSS CEO Charlie Burton called on the government to bring forward $33m in promised energy bill relief.

“Households are being suffocated by high energy prices, energy debt and cost-of-living pressures right now,” Dr Burton said.

“Meanwhile, there’s $33m sitting in a reserve with Tasmanians no closer to receiving meaningful support to pay their power bills.

“We have a simple answer for the Tasmanian government: put the $33m fund to immediate use to help Tasmanians with energy costs, rather than leaving them in limbo.”

Minister for Energy and Renewables Guy Barnett went on morning radio on Wednesday to defend the government’s record on keeping energy prices down.

“We’ve always been focused on having the lowest or amongst the lowest regulated electricity prices in Australia,” he told the ABC.

“Since we’ve been in government, they’ve actually gone down in real terms for residential customers and small business regulated customers, but certainly the last 12 months has been particularly difficult.

“That’s why we’ve outlined and delivered a targeted package of support for those in need, including the most generous concessions in Australia.”

But Mr Barnett said the government was committed to growing energy exports and had never had a policy of exiting the National Energy Market.

“We’ve never had a policy of not being part of the NEM,” he said.

In fact, exiting the NEM was a policy the party took to the 2018 election.

Mr Winter accused Mr Barnett of being dishonest.

“The minister lied to Tasmania this morning when he said that they never had a policy to delink from the National Electricity Market,” he said.

“They did have one, it’s written in black and white on their policy document. And now he’s saying that that never happened. It did happen.

“They did promise it, and they did promise power prices would go down.”