Australia has the world’s most overpriced electricity before tax according to a new report.
An international comparison of Australia’s household electricity prices was prepared by Carbon Market Economics for One Big Switch.
The study compared power prices in all Australian states with prices paid by households in countries in Europe, Great Britain, Japan and the United States.
Some highlights from the report:
- South Australia had the OECD’s second-highest pre-tax electricity prices.
- Queensland has experienced the largest increases in power prices over the past ten years.
- Victoria had the OECD’s highest pre-tax electricity prices in June this year.
- NSW standing offers are higher than any OECD country.
- South Australia had the OECD’s second-highest pre-tax electricity prices last month.
- Western Australia has seen electricity prices almost double since 2006.
To add to already intense hip-pocket pain; electricity prices in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland increased significantly at the beginning of this month – and these increases were not reflected in the comparison.
“After these increases, electricity prices in New South Wales for these offers (before taxes and at market exchange rates) will join those in South Australia and Victoria in being clearly higher than the average prices paid by households in other comparator OECD countries,” states the report.
One Big Switch’s Campaign Director, Joel Gibson, says Australian Governments of “every stripe” have failed to control power prices.
“This report confirms what Australian billpayers already suspect: we’re paying top dollar,” Mr. Gibson stated.
“Only higher government taxes make final electricity prices more expensive in some nations, such as Portugal, Germany and Denmark.”
The Carbon Market Economics report can be viewed here (PDF).
One Big Switch harnesses the collective buying power of its 600,000+ strong membership to secure better deals on various services for its members; including electricity supply. Its current Big Energy Switch campaign is seeking 40,000 Australian households to help unlock energy offers it has negotiated.
In addition to taking advantage of programs such as One Big Switch, Australians can further reduce their electricity costs and boost their energy independence with solar power systems and battery storage.
News item provided courtesy of Energy Matters Australia
