SOME customers could be paying almost $900 more for a year's electricity by 2013, as the impact of the Federal Government's proposal to cut carbon emissions is felt in the household budget for the first time, with one group warning the increases ''will send many households into poverty''.
A large part of the increase stems from the Federal Government's proposed emissions trading scheme, which is aimed at reducing carbon pollution, with the intent that higher electricity prices will reduce electricity use.
Household electricity prices are already rising at a double-digit pace, following increases agreed to earlier by the Australian Energy Regulator, to finance large capital spending programs by electricity retailers such as EnergyAustralia.
Yesterday the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal included the impact of the Federal Government's carbon pollution reduction scheme in the household electricity bill, which is scheduled to take effect from mid-2011 once legislation passes Federal Parliament.
''I was shocked,'' said the NSW Energy Minister, John Robertson, of the proposed price rise, adding that the State Government would go through it ''with a fine-tooth comb''.
''We need to get the balance right,'' he said. ''People expect a reliable electricity supply and they also expect electricity that is affordable.''
The chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal , and acting chief executive, Jim Cox, said community demands for improved reliability in electricity supply has underpinned much of the need to upgrade reliability of the electricity network. ''People are becoming less tolerant of power interruptions,'' Mr Cox said.
IPART assumed the carbon price would initially be $10 a tonne under the Federal Government's proposed emissions trading scheme, which it forecast would rise to $26 a tonne in 2012-13, in line with the Commonwealth Government's Treasury department forecast.
In total, prices charged by EnergyAustralia would rise by 10 per cent in 2010-11, 16 per cent in 2011-12 and 25 per cent in 2012-13, IPART said. This means a combined rise of 58 per cent over the three years, with a typical EnergyAustralia customer to pay $727 more in 2013, taking the total power bill to $1985 a year by then, with the Federal Government's carbon reduction scheme making up $289 of this rise.
Integral Energy customers are expected to pay $554 more in 2013, with the carbon scheme making up $312, with Country Energy customers expected to pay a further $893 in 2013, with the scheme accounting for $299.
By 2013 the impact of the emissions trading scheme would raise the average bill of EnergyAustralia customers by 23 per cent, Integral Energy customers by 25 per cent and Country Energy customers by 21 per cent, IPART said.
The proposed rises follow steep increases in household electricity bills over the past few months, with double-digit price rises taking effect from July 1 this year.
Joel Pringle, a Public Interest Advocacy Centrepolicy officer, said the ''increases will send many households into poverty''.
''This is a time bomb that will hit all consumers … most impact will be felt by those already struggling to make ends meet. That includes many families with mortgages, low-income households and large families. What we fear is that many of these households will be disconnected from electricity because they simply cannot afford to pay.''
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