Power bills take a toll

MORE than 100,000 requests for payment plans were made by Aurora customers struggling to pay their power bills last financial year, a parliamentary hearing has heard. The number represents more than a third of the company’s 270,000 customers.

AURORA Energy got more than 100,000 requests for payment plans from customers struggling to pay power bills last financial year, a parliamentary hearing has heard.

That number was the equivalent of a third of the stateowned company’s 270,000 customers, although some may have made multiple requests.

Aurora chief executive Rebecca Kardos said 88,991 customers were receiving concessions and 106,191 had made requests for payment arrangements — a rise of 3.2 per cent over the year before.

Aurora appeared before the House of Assembly Government Businesses Scrutiny Committee yesterday.

Labor’s Energy spokesman David O’Byrne said the amount of payment plan requests was astonishing.

“Will Hodgman and Guy Barnett made a promise to Tasmanians to deliver the lowest power prices in the country,” he said. “That promise is cold comfort to the customers struggling to pay their power bills today.

“We now have Guy Barnett abandoning this commitment, saying instead Tasmanians will have ‘among the lowest power prices in the country’. Make of that what you will.

“It’s a reminder that under a Liberal government, wages are not keeping up with the cost of living.”

Aurora Energy customers struggling to pay their bill can apply for a one-off extension or to enter into weekly or fortnightly payments to cover charges in full before the next bill.

For those struggling longerterm, eligible customers can apply to enter a plan to pay off outstanding balances over 12 or 18 months, as well as to keep on top of their next bills.

Energy Minister Guy Barnett rejected claims the Government was walking away from its promise to have the nation’s lowest power prices within three years.

“Can I make it very clear, the language hasn’t changed in the last six months,” he said. “The language has been very consistent. Our target is to have the lowest prices by 2022 for both residential and for regulated business customers. We’re in a good place, we’re tracking well, but there is more to do.”

Greens Energy spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said: “Power bills are one of the biggest everyday costs for households. Given the rising cost of living, the figures revealed today about the increase in Tasmanians struggling to pay their bills is unfortunately not surprising. Rising rental prices are hitting household budgets hard, so other bills are even harder to afford.”