Power shock as bills jump $200 since July

Erin Pearson
By Erin Pearson
Geelong household power bills have jumped around $200 in six months with another hike on the way, a national charity has warned.
St Vincent de Paul’s Gavin Dufty urged families in the region to “prepare themselves” for even bigger bills in February and March after a tariff increase in January.
Mr Dufty said a St Vincent de Paul investigation had found that bills for all-electric Geelong homes had risen $205, or 18 per cent, since July based on average consumption of 7000kWh.
“It’s a huge increase,” he said.
“Six months ago energy bills were $200 cheaper. Now people have to find extra cash.”
Mr Dufty said bills for dual-energy homes running on gas and electricity in Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and Werribee had risen $170.
The price hike in Powercor’s distribution zone was the second worst in the state behind Jemena’s area north-west of Melbourne where bills rose $215.
Households in CitiPower’s metropolitan Melbourne distribution zone had the smallest hike of around $35.
Mr Dufty warned Geelong households to steer clear of “strings and traps” luring consumers into paying more on their electricity contracts.
“This is about kilowatts and megajoules, not freebies like free magazine prescriptions,” he said.
“If you can’t afford the lighting you can’t read the magazine.”
Diversitat financial counsellor Jocelyn McMillan was “quite concerned” about the energy price hikes.
“We’ve seen an increase in people seeking help over the past six months,” she said.
“We find that the first things to go out of household budgets are insurances such as car insurance and health insurance.”
The Independent sought an explanation for the electricity price hike from Powercor, which responded with a written statement that electricity bills comprised “several different components”.
“From January 2011 Powercor’s distribution prices will increase in real terms by .1 per cent while metering charges will drop by 4.6 per cent in real terms,” the statement said.
“Any other changes to customer rates would be as a result of retailer’s charges.”