The ACCC’s recommendations to significantly improve electricity affordability for Australian consumers and businesses are outlined in its final Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry report, released today.
The Inquiry, which commenced in March 2017, began by identifying the root causes of high electricity prices across the entire electricity supply chain, and has now made 56 recommendations detailing ways to fix the National Electricity Market.
The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Amaysim Energy Pty Ltd (trading as Click Energy) alleging it made false or misleading marketing claims about discounts and savings that Victorian and Queensland customers could obtain, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
From around October 2017 to March 2018, Click Energy represented to consumers in Victoria and Queensland that under its market energy offers, they could get discounts of between 7 and 29 per cent off Click Energy’s energy charges if they paid their bills on time.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims delivered an address to the Energy Users Association of Australia’s (EUAA) 2018 National Conference today, highlighting the current state of Australia’s electricity and gas markets.
“In Australia, the matters surrounding energy are some of our defining economic challenges for the 21st century,” Mr Sims said.
The ACCC’s Gas Inquiry 2017–20 Interim Report – April 2018 released today confirms that while conditions in the east coast gas market have improved since September 2017, the market is still not functioning effectively.
Prices offered to large commercial and industrial (C&I) gas users towards the end of 2017 were well below the peak of over $20/GJ in early 2017. After falling to a range of $8 to 12/GJ between June and November 2017, price offers made between November and January 2018 narrowed to $8 to 10/GJ for gas commodity.