Pricey private power networks in gun

PRIVATE electricity networks with a reputation for big bills will be banned in new apartment buildings and retirement homes to ensure all Victorians can access competitive power prices.

An expert panel has recommended banning “embedded electricity networks” that often supply power at higher prices to all tenants in the same apartment block, retirement homes, social housing and caravan parks.

It has also called for greater reform of the industry.

A report to be released on Friday by the panel of energy market and consumer advocacy heads leading the review found hundreds of frustrated Victorians felt trapped in embedded networks.

The panel has proposed 16 key changes to the industry to better regulate services to people in multi-home developments, including apartments, in a bid to drop the price of power bills.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the government took the matter seriously and would respond to the recommendations by the middle of this year. “We want to ensure that Victorians living in new and existing residential embedded networks can get access to the same competitive retail offers and consumer protections that other people have,’’ she said.

“That’s why we promised to act to ban these networks in new apartment blocks, which too often lock in high costs.”

Changes proposed include mandating all private network customers access to the energy retail market and making it easy for them to transfer to another retailer.

“Customers within a private network should not face a greater financial or administrative burden to change retailers than other Victorian customers,’’ the report said.

The panel proposed amending planning, building and strata requirements “to oblige’’ private power companies to incorporate renewable and clean technologies and to pass savings onto customers.

It also called for building requirements to be changed for other bundled services such as hot water, heating, cooling and gas “in the best interests of prospective owners and occupants”.

Monitoring, compliance and enforcement of private power networks “should be robust’’.

And there should be “appropriate regulation, monitoring and enforcement relating to currently unregulated bundled services, including bulk hot-water, bulk heating/cooling and unmetered gas cooktops”.