It is no doubt that many Australians have been feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis for many years now, and the news from two major energy retailers has been hard to swallow due to increasingly high prices. AGL and Origin Energy have announced that they will increase prices for customers on variable rate market contracts.
The price increases are reportedly seen from 21 per cent to almost 30 per cent, and will be in effect in New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland from 1st of July. This news has come at a particularly difficult time for many Australians, with household incomes in decline due to rising inflation and higher wholesale costs.
In terms of AGL customers, South Australia and New South Wales are facing the highest price hikes at 29.8% and 29.7% respectively, with Queensland at 26.4% and Victoria at 25.5%. Meanwhile, of Origin Energy customers, Victorians are most affected by a price rise of 25.5%, followed by South Australia at 24.2%, Queensland at 21.6%, and New South Wales at 21.1%.
Both retailers stated they would offer assistance for their most disadvantaged customers, providing some respite from the fact that the alterations would cause bills to become more expensive by an amount ranging from $361 to $565 annually.
Catherine Anderson, the general manager of brand and customer experience at Origin Energy, informed ABC News that they would be ” absorbing the price change” for their Power On customers on hardship programs. On the other hand, AGL stated it will offer up to $400 in bill credits for winter to lessen the impact of price increases for their Staying Connected customers on hardship programs.
Less than three weeks after the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) announced electricity prices would rise by between 20 and 25 per cent for people in NSW, southeast Queensland, and South Australia from July 1, the Origin Energy changes will also significantly impact small businesses, who will have to contend with yearly increases of between $590 and $1,133 across the country.
