Southeast Queensland to get access to two-year electricity discount from August 14

A new player in Southeast Queensland’s electricity market is set to give households a chance to slash their bills by hundreds of dollars per year. New residential and small businesses customers of Alinta Energy will be offered a two-year discount of 25 percent from August 14.

The move is part of the company’s joint venture with government-owned CS Energy. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has welcomed the announcement, saying she hopes the offer will put downward pressure on electricity prices across the state.

Palaszczuk said on Sunday that it is time for all electricity retailers to step up and see if they can match lower price offers. Those from regional Queensland will not get access to Alinta Energy’s offer, but Palaszczuk assured the government will provide $488 million in subsides over the next year to sustain price parity with the southeast.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims previously commented that Queenslanders had been paying too much for their "gold-plated" electricity system. He suggested that a less concentrated market would lower prices.

But Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said the announcement about Alinta Energy’s offer is a “political ploy” by the Palaszczuk government. "It's a con job that won't lower the price of power for households, for small business and for manufacturers," the Brisbane Times quotes Nicholls as saying.

Electricity price hike

Several Australian households claim their energy bills have climbed over the past year, forcing many to look for ways to reduce costs. The country’s biggest retailers like Energy Australia and Origin implemented electricity and gas price hikes on July 1.

The price hikes resulted to difficulties in paying bills for some consumers. Based on recent data collected by Galaxy for financial comparison website iSelect, less than one in four people can pay their energy bills with no trouble.

iSelect’s spokeswoman Laura Crowden said there are ways consumers can consider to reduce the financial difficulty. She said the recent price hikes in many states must prompt customers to review their current contract and ensure they are getting a good deal.

“Most energy companies put a lot of effort into attracting new customers with generous introductory offers but these discounts generally expire after a year or two,” she said, according to news.com.au. Crowden added that if a consumer has been with the same provider for many years, he could be paying a lot more than he needs to.

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