Almost three hundred thousand Victorian households will see their power prices slashed by up to 28 per cent next year, saving them hundreds of dollars off their electricity bills.
Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio today to announce a new set of rebates for households on costly default electricity deals.
The rebates will be funded by Victoria’s major energy retailers – Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia – and will drive down electricity costs for more than 285,000 customers on default deals (also known as standing offers) or on expired market offers.
The bipartisan independent Retail Review by Terry Mulder, John Thwaites and Patricia Faulkner found that customers on standing offers were paying significantly higher prices than average or what was reasonable for an essential service.
In separate discussions with the Andrews Labor Government, each of the big three retailers acknowledged that standing offer arrangements were costly for those customers. With power bills set to increase on 1 January 2018 across the country, the Labor Government has stepped in to make power bills fairer.
The rebates proposed by the big three retailers will save non-concession holders on standing offers and those on some expired market offers between $250 - $440 compared to what they would have paid next year if the rebate was not in place.
The savings for concession holders on standing offers are even more significant, with the rebate set to save them between $254 - $720 on what their power bills would have been without it.
To put this in perspective, the average electricity price increase for standing offers on 1 July 2017 in Queensland was 6 per cent, in New South Wales was 18 per cent, and in South Australia was a whopping 19 per cent.
In Victoria, by virtue of the rebates, most standing offer customers will see a decrease of 5 to 28 per cent.
The big three retailers have 92 per cent of standing offer customers. The Labor Government encourages all energy providers to follow the lead of Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia in slashing the cost of energy for their customers.
The Retail Review also proposed a range of recommendations to improve the efficiency, transparency and oversight of Victoria’s retail gas and electricity sector, and ensure it is working in the best interest of Victorians.
The Labor Government continues to work through these recommendations, and will release its response shortly.
For more information and a copy of the review, visit energy.vic.gov.au/about-energy/policy-and-strategy.
Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“This makes things fairer for the one in ten Victorians who are on costly default energy deals and are paying too much for their power.”
“It will make a real difference for families across Victoria – saving them money and making their lives easier.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio
“While the Turnbull Government talks, we are getting things done – saving Victorian households hundreds of dollars on their power bills.”
“This is a major win for Victorians and there’s more to come, with further measures being considered to make our energy sector fairer for families across the state.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020