Time to read : 3 Minutes
The Government Says They Have An Energy Power Plan But What Is It Exactly
Last December, Labor released their Powering Australia plan as part of their pre-election push.
It promised 604,000 jobs, to cut our emissions by 43% by 2030 and reduce our power bills by $275 a year.
A lot's happened since then, not least a change of government.
At the time there was no war between Ukraine and Russia, which has had a knock-on effect on energy prices around the globe.
The former Liberal Government chose to delay the release of electricity pricing update until after the election.
Labor's recent budget showed that energy bill would surge by 20% this year, followed by another 30% next year.
😐 So much for a $275 saving, huh?
How is Labor going to fix it?
There are a few things that are being considered.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says:
"I think any responsible government facing these kinds of price hikes for electricity and for gas needs to consider a broader suite of regulatory interventions than they might have considered in years gone by.
And we have more work to do on this and I'll do that work with my colleagues."
Australia sells 70% of its gas overseas, so the Government is considering making companies reserve more for domestic use.
Gas companies have also agreed in theory to provide the energy that Australians need.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is also monitoring gas producers to make sure they do the right thing too. The ACCC is also publishing updated gas prices once a month.
The end result? The government and regulators are hoping this will go some way to solving the problem of Australians being charged more for gas than customers overseas.
The bottom line
There's no way to put this nicely: our energy bills are going to be painful.
Be aware: by 2025, the transition towards renewable energy sources should help bring some of those painful costs down. But that's a good two years away at least.
I'll leave the summing up to Compare Club's General Manager of Utilities, Paul Coughran:
"A colleague recently described Australia's wholesale energy position as similar to "driving across the Nullarbor Plain with no spare tyre" – we're in a tenuous situation.
Australia's transition to renewables represents a positive step for our carbon emissions over the next decade. However in the short term, we still have a big issue when it comes to generation.
Consumers will need to brace for a sharp rise in energy prices over the next year."
💡The best thing for now is to find ways to cut down on power use and see if there's a cheaper plan on the market.
Go deeper:
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