Residential electricity bills were higher across most National Electricity Market states in the September quarter last year compared to the equivalent quarter in 2021, the ACCC’s latest Electricity Market Inquiry Report reveals.
The report presents analysis of 13 million residential and small business electricity bills in New South Wales, Victoria, South-East Queensland, and South Australia, between July and September 2022.
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It explains that electricity bills will increase further this year as the record high wholesale prices from mid-2022 continue to flow through to customers; however, government rebates from 1 July this year will provide some relief to eligible households (up to $500) and small businesses (up to $650).
“Wholesale electricity prices have eased since their peak in the middle of 2022, but we expect electricity bills to increase further this year due to the lag in wholesale costs flowing through to customers,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
South Australian households experienced a 9.1% increase in their quarterly median electricity bills between the September quarters 2021 and 2022, which was the highest of all National Electricity Market regions. In comparison, New South Wales residents saw a 6.4% rise in their bills, and Victorians 0.6%.
In South-East Queensland, there was a 20.4% decrease in median residential bills in the September quarter 2022 due to the Queensland Government’s $175 Cost of Living Rebate for Households being applied to bills in that quarter.
The image shows the median bills paid by residential customers by region, all quarters, from third quarter 2018 to third quarter 2022.
Source: ACCC analysis of retailer billing data. Nominal dollars, excluding GST
For small businesses across all regions, the quarterly median electricity bill increased by 13.1% between the September quarters 2021 and 2022.
“Energy retailers enter into supply contracts with generators years in advance to manage volatility, so households haven’t yet seen the full impact of last year’s wholesale price spikes.”
A number of energy retailers recently announced increases to their market offer prices from 1 July, and some customers have already received price change notifications indicating significant increases. The ACCC is closely monitoring retailers’ price changes, as part of both its ongoing electricity market inquiry and enforcement of the Electricity Retail Code.
“Retailers have certain legal obligations under the Electricity Retail Code to communicate price changes in a way that allows people to compare different plans,” Brakey said.
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“Any retailer that breaches the electricity code or seeks to mislead consumers about the reasons for electricity prices increasing can expect our attention.”
The report is available on the ACCC’s website at Electricity market monitoring 2018-25.
The next report is scheduled for December 2023.
