Origin of energy and AGL energy at providers set for price increase
Millions of customers in much of Australia’s eastern states are about to be hit by massive energy bill hikes as the price hikes approved by the regulator take effect from Friday.
In May, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) announced it would increase the standard market offer (DMO) — or the price providers are allowed to charge their customers — with the changes taking effect from July 1.
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The walks mean that Queenslanders can see an increase of up to 12.6 percent, while those in NSW can see up to 18.3 percent and 9.5 percent in South Australia.
One of the country’s largest retailers, AGL, will snub NSW’s electricity customers by nearly 18 percent, likely resulting in many households paying an annual increase of hundreds of dollars.
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AGL’s gas prices will also rise.
Meanwhile, Origin Energy prices will rise between 10 and 14 percent.
As providers try to make a profit while keeping pace with rising wholesale electricity prices, experts warn the rises could see millions of Australians struggling to pay their bills.
According to recent consumer research from Finder, Australians are already increasingly stressed about their energy bills.
In June, the survey found that 28 percent, or 5.4 million Aussies, placed their energy bills in the top three most stressful expenses.
Finder energy expert Mariam Gabaji said many Australians are dealing with energy bills they can’t afford.
“Bills have already risen this year, and it will only become a bigger problem for households across Australia,” Gabaji said.
“Rising energy prices and higher interest rates straining budgets, along with the winter energy surge, could be the perfect storm.
“Vulnerable households are doing what they can to offset the increases, but as prices are expected to rise even further, there are few cost-cutting measures for them to try.”
Smaller carriers are trying to ‘lose’ customers.
Prices of some smaller energy companies will also rise after July 1, with ReAmped and LPE increasing their costs by 100 percent, while Discover Energy will increase by 285 percent and GloBird by 147 percent.
Finder’s Taylor Blackburn told 7NEWS that these smaller companies are raising prices to lose customers.
“We’ve seen a lot of smaller providers begging their customers to go elsewhere and shop around,” he said.
Over the past month, some smaller providers have warned customers to leave before their electricity bills double.
Earlier this month, ReAmped Energy CEO Luke Blincoe sent a letter to tens of thousands of customers advising them to shop around.
It said the wholesale terms had reached a point where it was now in the customer’s “best interest” to leave ReAmped and shop around.
“With the state of the Australian electricity market, the best thing you can do is leave ReAmped Energy and find another retailer,” Blincoe said.
“Prices are going to go up, and they’re going to keep going up, and we just don’t want to pass these costs on to our customers.”
Experts and small energy suppliers say the best way to save on utility bills as prices climb is to shop around for a great deal.
“Come July 1, look around because you could probably save hundreds of dollars a year on your bills,” Blackburn said.
