Media release – Tasmanian Economic Regulator, 22 June 2021
STANDING OFFER ELECTRICITY PRICES AND REGULATED FEED-IN TARIFF RATE TO APPLY FROM 1 JULY 2021
Regulated electricity prices for Tasmanian residential customers will decrease by 7.11 per cent from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. For small business customers, regulated prices will decrease by 11.00 per cent over that period. The Tasmanian Economic Regulator, Mr Joe Dimasi, has today approved these price decreases.
As pointed out in Aurora Energy’s pricing proposal, the prices to business customers have been higher than the costs of supplying electricity to those customers, while the opposite has been the case for the prices to residential customers. Mr Dimasi noted that Aurora Energy’s proposal for a greater price decrease in the tariffs to business customers aims to address this issue.
“The standing offer price decrease is estimated to reduce the annual bill for a residential customer with median usage on Tariff 31/Tariff 41 by around $145 and by around $126 for a residential customer with median usage on the time-of-use (ToU) tariff, Tariff 93. For a business customer on Tariff 22 with median usage, the decrease is estimated to be around $183 per annum”, Mr Dimasi said.
Mr Dimasi explained that annual standing offer prices are based on his assessment of Aurora Energy’s costs with the price decreases mainly reflecting lower wholesale electricity costs (due to a wholesale electricity price that is 24 per cent lower than for 2020-21) and lower Renewable Energy Target-related costs.
The Regulator has also determined the minimum feed-in tariff rate for 2021-22 is 6.501c/kWh. This minimum rate for 2021-22 is lower than the 2020-21 rate of 8.471c/kWh, by around 23 per cent, due to the lower wholesale electricity price for 2021-22.
Media release – Guy Barnett, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, 22 June 2021
Delivering lower power bills for Tasmanian households and businesses
The Tasmanian Liberal Government continues to deliver reliable, low cost, clean power for Tasmanians with significant savings announced today for households and businesses.
The Government welcomes the Tasmanian Economic Regulator’s approval today for a 7.11 per cent decrease in Aurora Energy’s residential electricity price to apply from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.
This will mean Tasmanians will be experiencing some of the lowest prices in the nation, with the decrease to deliver annual bill savings of up to $145 for the average household depending on their tariff.
Tasmanian small business customers will also benefit from a decrease of 11 per cent on the regulated electricity prices for the same 12 month period, amounting to around $183 per year annual bill saving for small businesses.
In total, this represents savings of at least $30 million for Tasmania’s 243,000 households and about $5.3 million in savings for 29,000 small businesses.
We understand that the cost of living is a major issue for all Tasmanians and we are well on track with our Tasmania-First Energy Policy which aims to deliver the lowest regulated electricity prices in the nation by 2022.
To reach our goal we took decisive action with long term benefits by capping regulated electricity prices at no more than CPI for four years starting from 2017-18 and we commenced a review of the wholesale pricing mechanism to de-link from Victorian prices.
More than seven years on from our election in 2014, in real terms, prices have decreased by 18.04 per cent for residential customers and decreased by 27.18 per cent for small business customers. In nominal terms, prices have decreased 5.44 per cent for residential customers and 15.8 per cent for small business customers, compared to the hike of 65 per cent under the previous Labor-Green government.
The Regulator has also determined the minimum feed-in tariff rate for 2021-22 is 6.501c/kWh. Government also recently provided a $125 winter supplement for eligible electricity concession holders reducing energy bills for around 90,000 Tasmanians at a cost of up to $12 million.
To support more Tasmanians, we are making an adjustment to the eligibility for the $125 winter supplement to cover customers in embedded networks, like aged care facilities, caravan parks and some retirement villages, where customers do not have a direct relationship with a power retailer.
These customers will receive a one-off $125 COVID Cost of Living Grant. The Grant Program will be organised by the Department of State Growth with advertising in the coming weeks to ensure Tasmanians understand their eligibility and how to receive the grant.
Media release – TasCOSS, 22 June 2021
Welcome relief with electricity costs for households
The announcement by the Tasmanian Economic Regulator (TER) that household electricity prices will fall by 7.11% next month couldn’t come soon enough for Tasmanians grappling with mounting cost of living pressures.
TasCOSS CEO Ms Adrienne Picone said the impacts of the pandemic, combined with the housing affordability crisis, low wage growth, job insecurity and loss of income supports, have resulted in more Tasmanian households struggling with cost of living pressures.
“This price reduction is welcome and will provide much-needed relief to residential customers that have endured higher electricity consumption and have had difficulty paying electricity bills and keeping their homes warm over the past year,” Ms Picone said.
Off the back of today’s announcement, Ms Picone also renewed calls for the state government to deliver the lowest electricity prices in the country to further ease cost of living pressures.
“While the standing offer price reduction will provide welcome relief for residential customers in the short- to medium-term, we continue to call on the state government to go beyond its commitment to the lowest regulated prices in the country,” she said.
“The fact remains there are market offer prices on the mainland lower than Tasmania’s standing offer price and these market offer prices fell by almost 9% over the last year.”
TasCOSS has been leading the call for the state government to improve energy affordability for Tasmanians and provide increased support for households to lower their electricity bills. Prior to the state election in May this year, TasCOSS joined a coalition of consumer energy advocates seeking increased support for households to lower their electricity bills.
“TasCOSS estimates there are 59,000 Tasmanian households currently experiencing energy poverty. These are families and individuals who are rationing their energy by going without basic activities like showering, cooking or heating to save a few dollars on their electricity bill,” Ms Picone said.
“Rationing energy use often leads to significant health and wellbeing impacts, especially at this time deep into a Tasmanian winter.
“Lowering electricity prices will go a long way to helping customers manage their electricity bills, but there is more that needs to be done to ensure all Tasmanians have access to an affordable, safe and reliable electricity supply.
“Dollar for dollar one of the best investments the state government can make right now is in household energy efficiency upgrades, to ensure homes use less electricity and are healthy to live in.”
