WA set for price hike on electricity bills

PIC: Bigstock

The average power bill could increase by $203 by 2019-20.

Western Australia will still be home to the most expensive power bills in the country, with another price hike, while other states see a reduction in costs. 

The Australian Energy Market Commission's annual residential Electricity Price Trends report is predicting a fall in electricity prices around the east coast, but an unfortunate increase in Western Australia. 

The independent government report expects a 6.3% increase to the price of our power bills across WA by the second half of 2018.

The ACT and Northern Territory will also suffer the same fate as the west, but a five to seven percent drop is forecast for the east coast.

WA households will still be paying less than the cost of supply, with prices determined by the state government. 

Renewable energy including wind and solar farms will help drive prices down when they enter the market in 2020. 

The new renewable generation over east has already helped the drop in electricity prices.

Australian Energy Council Chief Executive Matthew Warren said the report shares mostly good news for Australians. 

“Increased renewable generation is welcome and a key part of the re-build of the grid this century .... We still need to push through with national policy reforms to ensure we make these changes sustainably and reliably, so that costs don’t spike again when the next round of older power stations exit the market.”

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