Queenslanders still not seeing the full benefits of renewable energy on their power bills
Queensland Conservation Council today welcomes the stabilisation of prices in the 2024-25 Australian Energy Regulators Default Market Offer.
"This year, customers on the default market offer in Queensland will face increases of up to 2.7 per cent. This is a far cry from last year where Queensland consumers faced price hikes of 20 per cent," said QCC's Energy Strategist Clare Silcock.
"Over this last year renewable energy has been playing a key role in reducing wholesale electricity prices, which are trending 40 per cent below where they were the year before.
"Unfortunately, we're not seeing these savings passed on to consumers yet. This is partly due to retailers managing the risks of price spikes caused by failures at coal-fired power stations and extreme weather events. These have played a significant role in the higher power prices we've seen in Queensland over the last few years.
"The problem is that these issues aren't going anywhere because climate change is driving more extreme weather events and our coal plants are increasingly unreliable as they head towards retirement.
"The best way to reduce people's bills is to reduce energy demand through efficiency and put solar on their roofs. We call on the Queensland Government to match the Opposition's recently announced solar for rentals policy to open up access to cheap solar to more Queenslanders.
"Prices also remain high because retailers haven't been passing through the cost reductions and are instead making massive profits. We welcome the AER's decision to reduce the competition allowance in this DMO to ensure consumers are benefiting from the reduced wholesale power prices."