Over half a million Aussies about to be hit by huge electricity price hike

Electricity prices will increase between 20 and 25 per cent from July 1 for about 600,000 customers across three states, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed today.

The AER's decision will impact customers in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia who are on the default market offer (DMO) over the coming financial year.

Customers in Victoria and Tasmania are part of a different process and Western Australia and the Top End are on a different market.

The DMO is the maximum price providers give to households and businesses on standing deals who haven't searched for a more competitive deal, effectively a price cap.

From July 1, residential customers on standard retail plans will see price increases of 20.8 per cent to 23.9 per cent without controlled load, depending on their region, and from 19.6 per cent to 24.9 per cent with controlled load, depending on their region.

Small business customers are facing rises of 14.7 per cent to 28.9 per cent, depending on their region.

The price rise is higher than the draft offer proposed by the AER in March when the regulator flagged hikes of 20 per cent to 22 per cent.

The AER said the revised increase was based on stakeholder feedback and has factored in updated wholesale, network, environmental schemes and retail costs, the latest inflation forecasts and reduced the retail allowance in NSW.

AER Chair Clare Savage said the regulator had to balance the cost-of-living pressures faced customers with the need for retailers to recover reasonable costs.

"We know households and small businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures on many fronts, and that's why it's important the DMO provides a safety net for those who might not have shopped around for a better power deal," Savage said.

"In setting the DMO price this year we have sought to protect consumers from unjustifiably high prices and at the same time allow retailers to offer consumers better deals than their standard plans."

Savage advised customers to shop around for the best electricity price offer and use the AER price comparison site at www.energymadeeasy.gov.au.

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