Canberrans will face a double hit from July 1, with electricity prices set to rise an average $85 a year and gas prices by an average $213.
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The electricity price could change if the federal carbon price is scrapped, as promised by the Abbott government.
Pricing Commissioner Malcolm Gray said that if the carbon price was overturned, Canberrans would get a decrease of 7.3 per cent in their electricity bills – an average $143 a year. The cut would take effect immediately on repeal of the carbon price.
But in the meantime, the average 4.3 per cent price increase for electricity takes effect on July 1 – an increase partly due to Canberra's first large-scale solar farm, due to start generating electricity and feeding it into the grid in the next three months.
The new gas prices will also take effect on July 1. The price is not regulated but set by ActewAGL, which blamed the influence of international markets on Australia’s gas prices.
Sustainable Development Minister Simon Corbell said the electricity pricing decision showed that renewables had a very modest impact on the cost of electricity.
The government had estimated the three solar farms being built and planned in the territory would cost households an average 50 cents a week ($26 a year) but the Australian Energy Regulator, which sets the network costs, had estimated a figure of 47 cents a week, Mr Corbell said. That applied to all three solar farms, but only Royalla would be producing electricity in the coming financial year, costing each household 19 cents a week, he said.
ActewAGL estimates the feed-in tariff premium paid to the solar farms in 2014-15 at $7.9 million. Another $14 million will be paid to householders who feed solar energy into the grid from rooftop panels.
Mr Corbell said that ACT prices were still the cheapest in the country, and an average $1000 less than in Queanbeyan.
Mr Gray said if it hadn’t been for the big increase in network costs set by the Australian Energy Regulator, Canberrans would have had a cut to their electricity bills this year. About a third of the increase in network costs could be attributed to the solar farm, he said.
Prices are set by Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission. If you use 8000 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is average for Canberra households, your electricity bill for the coming year will be $2044. For large household users, at 12,000 kWh, the bill will be $2926. For small households, at 4000 kWh, the average bill will be $1162.
These figures assume the carbon price remains. If it goes, everyone will benefit on electricity, but not on gas.
ActewAGL general manager Ayesha Razzaq said the increase in gas prices was a result of ActewAGL having to pay more to buy gas now the industry was selling overseas. The exporting of gas from Queensland to international markets had changed the supply and demand equation in Australia and allowed wholesalers to charge more to companies like ActewAGL.
ActewAGL was passing the least it could on to customers, she said, comparing the ACT’s 14.5 per cent increase to NSW, where gas prices are set to rise by 17.2 per cent. “We’ve really managed it carefully because we do recognise that Canberrans do rely a lot on gas, especially in the winter period,” she said.
The average $213 a year increase is for a Canberra family using 47.5 GJ of gas a year.
Liberal Treasury spokesman Brendan Smyth said the price increases came on top of sykrocketing cost of living increases.
“This is off the back of an ACT budget which will drive up general rates by 10 per cent, household utility costs by 7 per cent, motor vehicle registration by 6 per cent, [and the] emergency services levy for households by 8 per cent," he said.