Liberals promise $250 credit on household power bills and $300 for small business

In a bid to sway voters, the Liberals have promised to help ease pressure on their hip-pockets. Find out how you could benefit.

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In a major cash splash, the Liberals have promised every Tasmanian household will get a one-off $250 payment and small business $300 - credited to their electricity bill - to ease pressure on their hip-pocket.

Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff said if re-elected, the government would make the payments, which will cost $74m, before June 30 from the Renewable Energy Dividend.

He said the $250 would be paid to 254,000 households and $300 for 35,000 small businesses.

“Our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future is all about taking action now on the issues affecting Tasmanians most, and the most important of those is cost of living,” Mr Rockliff said.

“We are going to supercharge the Renewable Energy Dividend that we introduced last year, to deliver a one-off hip-pocket relief to every Tasmanian household.

“Hydro was built by Tasmanians, for Tasmanians, and the beauty of the renewable energy dividend is that all Tasmanians get to share in its profits.”

Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Liberal party campaign launch in Launceston for the 2024 state election. Picture: Rob Burnett

Energy Minister Nick Duigan said Hydro had delivered strong dividends for Tasmania and the economic regulator had confirmed that “we have the lowest regulated electricity prices in the nation”.

“But we know that so many Tasmanians are still doing it tough, and we need to do more. “Under our existing Renewable Energy Dividend, every year that Hydro returns a dividend in excess of $90m, Tasmanians directly share in it – with the balance used to help fund essential services such as health and education.

“Currently, Hydro’s dividend of $105m to be paid this year means that Tasmanians will share in $7.5m, with a $30 credit on their power bills.

“We’ve taken the decision to make a one-off dividend payment with the supercharged dividend, to deliver action right now on the cost-of-living pressures affecting Tasmanians.”

Treasurer Michael Ferguson said that it was a sensible and affordable dividend, in contrast to a “reckless electricity hoax” put forward by Labor.

“There is no magic money tree,” he said.

“Labor is promising more and suggesting it is costing less - $400 to everyone, allegedly costing just $50m.

“Basic maths tells you that Labor’s figures just don’t add up and simply can’t be afforded without them either cutting essential services such as health, raising taxes.”

In a statement on Saturday Labor energy spokesman Dean Winter said Tasmanians would be slugged with another power price rise from July 1.

He said Basslink had submitted a request to the regulator for $112m worth of new charges while TasNetworks would implement its own increase of 14.2 per cent for households.

“This will cost hundreds of dollars a year for households during a cost of living crisis,” Mr Winter said.

“This only makes it more critical that we pay Tasmanian prices for Tasmanian power.”