Major electricity retailers under fire for price hikes
<p>Three of Australia’s major electricity retailers are charging Aussie consumers as much as three times the rate for power in deregulated markets, compared to the ACT.</p>
<p>A study by energy economist Bruce Mountain, commissioned by advocacy group GetUp, made some startling findings regarding the amount of money AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy were charging customers, compared to the price of generating electricity.</p>
<p>Mr Mountain compared annual retail charges of states like NSW, Victoria and SA ($444, $485 and $650, respectively) to the relatively small charge of $225 ACT households could expect to pay in their regulated market. He also suggested that the mark-ups were not necessarily justified as little capital was required to provide the retail service.</p>
<p>Mr Mountain said, “Once deregulation occurs, prices rise substantially.”</p>
<p>GetUp Environmental Justice Campaign director Miriam Lyons criticised “The Big Three” retailers, and suggested they were exploiting market power.</p>
<p>Lyons told <a href="http://www.abc.net.au" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>ABC News</strong></span></a>, "This has huge impacts for people struggling to pay unaffordable energy bills. Customers can seek out the cheapest offer. This is a difficult thing to do because for customers it's hard for them to know what they're paying now, but if they go to the effort they can usually obtain a cheaper deal."</p>
<p>What do you make of this news? Do you think we’re being taken for a ride by major electricity retailers?</p>
<p>Share your thoughts in the comments. </p>
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