Page 1854 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 May 2013
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This is the third report that the AEMC has prepared. It is a guide to pricing trends and the components that drive those trends Therefore, it was very pleasing to see in this report that household electricity prices in the ACT are currently the lowest of any state or territory in the country and that in 2015 the Australian Energy Market Commission anticipates they will still be two-thirds of the average national electricity price. This is very pleasing news, of course, for Canberra households. The ACT is forecast to have the lowest household electricity prices in Australia through to at least 2015.
We know that electricity prices are complex and there are many factors that are driving change in prices. Between 2012-13 and 2013-14 the ACT residential electricity price is forecast to increase by only one per cent, which is less than the current rate of inflation. The forecast increase between 2013-14 and 2014-15 is 4.7 per cent. Both of these increases are less than the recent increases in the transitional franchise tariff, the TFT.
This is a very pleasing indicator for Canberra households. It shows that we continue to see lower demand for electricity in wholesale markets, which is contributing to reductions in cost pressures, but this does not mean that there is not more work to be done. We need to make sure that we continue to assist Canberrans to reduce their electricity use, to use electricity more efficiently, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and also to reduce price pressures on Canberra households.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Gentleman.
MR GENTLEMAN: Minister, will the government’s new energy efficiency improvement scheme make a difference to electricity prices in the ACT?
MR CORBELL: I thank Mr Gentleman for the supplementary. Yes, it certainly is the case that the energy efficiency improvement scheme will make a difference to electricity bills for Canberra households who participate in the scheme. This scheme, as you know, is going to save households on average, based on the regulatory impact assessment undertaken by the government, $390 per household over the three-year lifetime of the scheme. This is a very significant saving for Canberra households. They are going to achieve this saving through free energy efficiency services provided by their electricity retailer, who in most instances is going to be ActewAGL, given their level of market share. They will receive free energy saving products such as stand-by power controllers, energy efficient light bulbs and draught stoppers.
These are very efficient ways to reduce energy use in households. You can see that this scheme will help around 70,000 households to achieve these very significant savings on their electricity bill—$390 per household over the life of the scheme. In addition, of course, we achieve very significant emissions reduction, in the order of three-quarters of a million tonnes over the period of the scheme, which is until 2015.
This government is committed to helping Canberrans to make a real difference with their electricity bills and reduce the costs associated with them. We are very proud that we have implemented this legislation. It is disappointing that those opposite have
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