Regions stung by power trip on pricing

BUSINESSES in regional Queensland are being slugged up to 30 per cent more for their power than those in the southeast, a consumer group claims.

Households outside the major urban concentration pay up to a fifth more. Queensland Electricity Users Network co- ordinator Jennifer Brownie said comparisons on the Australian Energy Regulator’s website, Energy Made Easy, highlighted the differences.

The cheapest deal, without discounts, available for a fourperson family in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo with an annual consumption of 6970kWh was $ 1962.

But a four- person household in Cairns with the same use on government- owned Ergon Energy’s main residential tariff ( tariff 11) would fork out $ 2335 a year, $ 373 more.

The effect on a small business was even greater with a firm in Cairns using 6853kWh on tariff 20 paying $ 2573 a year – $ 633 more than an equivalent business in Brisbane.

“On top of this, power bill pain is made much greater in regional Queensland due to the need to use airconditioning in summer,” Ms Brownie said.

While almost 20 electricity retailers compete for customers in southeast Queensland, most regional consumers are supplied by the governmentowned Ergon Energy.

An Energy Queensland spokesman said: “The Queensland Competition Authority sets regulated electricity prices for Ergon Energy Retail customers in regional Queensland each year.

“It is difficult to compare regulated prices offered in regional Queensland to market contracts offered in southeast Queensland.”