A record number of households are being forced onto hardship programs to pay off their electricity bills as they struggle to cope with rising power prices | LatimerCole
"It is a significant increase in the number of people requiring assistance, suggesting that more people are struggling to pay their bills," the regulator said.The revelation has sparked fresh calls from government MPs for it to revive its ditched ''big stick'' energy policies which were shelved in the face of opposition from Labor and crossbenchers.
"People and businesses are entering hardship, they can't pay bills because of high power prices. A new coal-fired power station will help drive down costs," he told"The government has got the right policies; we've got to drive forward with them." The Australian Energy Regulator report found the average level of energy debt for households accessing the assistance programs on the east coast - excluding Victoria - had nearly doubled in the past four years, from $575 in 2014 to $1146 in the latest numbers.The Australian Energy Market Commission has forecast average annual power bills of $1294 for NSW in 2018-19 and $1375 for Queensland households, while Victorians are forecast to have average power bills of $1096 for 2019.
St Vincent de Paul's policy and research manager, Gavin Dufty, said these programs could help households get back on track and cut energy debts. The AER has been pushing households to enter their retailer's hardship programs as energy debt levels rise,"We know that more people are going into these [hardship] programs, but fewer people are successfully completing them," AER chairman Paula Conboy has previously said.
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