Australia Govt: Cost of supplying electricity to households at an 8-year low

Cheaper wholesale prices have reduced the cost of supplying electricity to households to the lowest it’s been in 8 years. Retailers have started to pass the savings on to consumers, the ACCC’s latest electricity market report shows.

The report presents the costs retailers incurred in supplying electricity to customers in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The average annual cost of electricity for a residential customer in 2020–21 was $1,434, down by $128 or 8% across the past 2 financial years.

Costs for businesses have fallen even further, down 10% for small businesses over the last two years, and down 12% for large businesses.

The ACCC expects electricity prices will continue to fall over the coming 12 months as the effects of reduced wholesale costs continue to flow through to consumers.

ACCC Chair Rod Sims said, ‘More renewable generation and lower fuel costs have brought down the wholesale price of electricity, and the Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct laws are working because we can see the savings being passed down from generators, to retailers, to consumers.’

‘We expect to see electricity prices for small business customers come down further, which will provide relief to many in their pandemic recovery,’ Mr Sims said.