RBA lifts interest rates; Sydney floods continue; NSW natural disaster zones declared; NSW COVID cases surge as mask-wearing recommended; Highland Park shooter identified; Australia to give Ukraine $100m aid package

More Australians face power bill increases of hundreds of dollars a year after EnergyAustralia became the latest major power and gas retailer to pass on this year’s steep rises in wholesale costs.

As the fallout from the war in Ukraine worsens a global energy crunch and drives up the cost of operating Australia’s coal- and gas-fired power plants, EnergyAustralia, the nation’s third-largest supplier, told customers on Tuesday it would be raising average power prices by 13.3 per cent a year ($259) in the ACT; 14.9 per cent a year ($312) in South Australia; 17.9 per cent ($362) in NSW; and 18.9 per cent ($357) in Queensland.

Victoria, whose large coal-fired power stations burn coal rather than black coal, is not exposed to the same pressures of international competition for the fuel and will face the lowest average bill increases of 5.5 per cent, or $111 a year.

EnergyAustralia’s rate changes from August 1 follow similar rises by rival power giants Origin Energy and AGL and threaten to add to Australia’s worsening cost-of-living pressures while inflation sits at a two-decade high.

EnergyAustralia chief customer officer Mark Brownfield said the price increases reflected a “more than doubling of wholesale electricity and gas costs that we pay to supply our customers”.

“More than a third of our customers are protected by being on fixed rate plans,” he said. “In the last three months, we have helped more than 75,000 customers update to a fixed-rate plan.”

Loading

Coal and gas plant operators, which account for the majority of the eastern seaboard’s electrical grid, have been squeezed by surging fossil fuel costs as Western nations scramble to lock in non-Russian supplies of coal and gas, deepening global shortages and boosting prices.

Last month, the east-coast electricity market was suspended for the first time in its history as it neared meltdown, after power generators across the grid withdrew their supply. Companies said the high cost of coal and gas, combined with the market operator’s decision to impose price caps, had made it impossible for them to operate profitably.

The unprecedented shutdown was lifted two weeks ago when enough coal-fired power station capacity had returned to service. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has directed the consumer watchdog to investigate if power companies had breached any rules when they withdrew their bids to supply electricity.