Australian households are paying far more than people in comparable countries in electricity network charges, with huge discrepancies across different states, a new report has found.
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Electricity network service providers in Queensland have the highest charges in Australia, while Victoria is the lowest cost jurisdiction in the National Energy Market.
The new report, commissioned by Uniting Care Australia, shows the highest network charges in Australia's National Energy Market are four times more than the lowest charges, and double the highest prices charged in Britain.
It also shows that Australia's network service providers are increasing their fixed charges more quickly than their variable charges, while there is a big discrepancy in the level of fixed charges across the country - ranging from zero to more than $500 a year for an average household.
"One of our standout findings is that costs are extremely patchy across Australia with some people, particularly in parts of Queensland, paying extraordinarily high network costs," said the national director of Uniting Care Australia, Lin Hatfield Dodds.
"Financial counsellors across the country consistently report that power bills are one of the biggest sources of financial distress for Australians trying to survive on a low income."
The report shows a worrying trend for households struggling with high power costs.
The gap between the least expensive and most expensive network tariff has doubled over the past seven years, it shows.
"This is why the Australian Energy Regulator is so important, and why the current debate happening between the regulator and the network companies is so important for all of us to pay attention to," Ms Hatfield Dodds said.
"A trade-off has to be struck between costs and reliability. We want to be able to keep electricity prices low and also make sure that the network is still reliable. It is important that as the independent umpire, the AER successfully strikes that balance.
"While pricing electricity is complex, the data shows that the cost burden being faced by people in some parts of Australia is simply unaffordable. We need to find ways to rectify this."
The report - to be released on Wednesday - examines what Australian consumers are being charged for the supply of their electricity and makes comparisons between regions of Australia and some international energy markets.
New Zealand, Britain and Denmark were chosen for international comparison because they have "disaggregated" their network service providers from the rest of the electricity value chain, as in Australia.
It shows how much households are being charged for electricity network services, including how tariffs are structured, how they have changed over time, and how they compare to networks in other comparable countries.
UnitingCare says it is the first of four papers focused on network tariffs from the perspective of Australian households.
The report was produced by economic consultancy Carbon and Energy Markets.
