26 May 2025

Canberrans' electricity bills to rise from July

| Claire Fenwicke
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powerlines at sunset

The ACT has largely been protected from electricity bill increases seen elsewhere in the country. Photo: EvoEnergy.

Electricity bills will increase across the ACT as ActewAGL’s regulated tariffs (standing offer) rise by an average of 10.11 per cent (or 7.05 per cent excluding inflation) from 1 July.

This means Canberrans on default energy plans will see a maximum average annual bill increase of $214 (for an average residential customer consuming 6500 kWh of electricity per year).

The average non-residential customer (consuming 25,000 kWh) will have $825 added to their annual bill.

The ACT’s economic regulator stated there were three main reasons for the increase.

“The price increase for 2025-26 is mainly driven by the increase in wholesale electricity costs, network costs and the ACT Government’s large-scale feed-in tariff (LFiT) scheme costs,” senior commissioner Joe Dimasi said.

table of costs

Estimated annual bill changes for different types of residential customers, 2025-26. Photo: ICRC.

One large contributor to the increase is wholesale energy purchase costs, which went up by 9.24 per cent.

The report noted these increases were due to high gas prices, demand on the NSW wholesale electricity market (where the ACT sources its electricity), supply constraints caused by coal generators and network outages, and low renewable energy output.

The other is the LFiT scheme cost.

This increased from $2.61/MWh in 2024-25 to $16.11/MWh in 2025-26, contributing 4.93 percentage points to the price rise.

The LFiT scheme is where the government sources renewable energy from generators in the ACT, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, paying a fixed contract price for the electricity they feed into the grid.

When wholesale market prices are below the agreed fixed price, a top-up payment is made to the generator to match the agreed contract price. This cost is then passed on to consumers.

Mr Dimasi said the ACT was still better off than most other parts of the country.

“Despite this significant increase in regulated electricity prices, bills for ACT customers on standing offers are expected to remain among the lowest in the country,” he said.

The report noted the median annual bill in the ACT would be lower than those faced by customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, but slightly higher than Tasmania.

The regulated price increases only apply to ActewAGL’s standing offer tariffs (which is what you receive as a default if you don’t choose a market offer or negotiate a plan).

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In February, the ACT Government made a reasonable cost determination of $48.4 million for 2025-26.

Region asked the government whether the LFiT scheme was still fit for purpose in protecting Canberrans from rising electricity costs.

An ACT Government spokesperson said Canberrans would continue to pay some of the lowest electricity fees in the country thanks to the scheme.

“This scheme has protected our community for more than a decade from the substantial ongoing price shocks experienced in other jurisdictions,” they said.

“Importantly, small businesses with an average consumption of 10,000 kWh will continue to pay less than almost all other jurisdictions for the same energy usage, as long as they remain on a standing offer.

“By contrast, just across the border in NSW, an average household could be paying almost $500, while a similar business could expect to pay over $1300 more compared to those in the ACT.”

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The spokesperson said the government expected the overall cost shock would be less as the Federal Government was providing another $150 energy bill rebate from 1 July to 31 December.

“We expect the actual increase to be significantly reduced for households and businesses,” they said.

“The regulated price increase only applies to standing offer tariffs. Many customers may pay less by shopping around for better deals on market offers, and we encourage all Canberrans to do so.”

The ACT Government’s sustainable household scheme, accessed by more than 20,000 households, has also reduced ongoing energy costs for those residents.

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Good way to reduce consumption and reduce greenhouse gases, make people live in the cold

Capital Retro8:33 am 29 May 25

Chris Bowen is working on that right now, clarkea.

I spent 5 years of my early life living in a remote, cold area with no electricity or other services that we take for granted these days. It didn’t bother me because that’s the way things were.

I have never “warmed” to air conditioning and instead I dress according to the climate which by the way hasn’t changed since the “ancient history days” that some of the resident self-appointed experts here say.

Keep voting Labour this is what happens!! No excuse to complain

Voting for who?

Anyway the LNP did nothing on energy for 8 years. The literally rolled Turnbull to stop the NEG going forward and they went to the recent election with a nuclear policy they already knew was never going to happen (rejected by the energy retailers & generators and the QLD LNP govt).

So a vote for the LNP is a vote for the inaction that got us here. Helps to be informed.

PS. It’s Labor btw, has been for over 100 years.

Malcolm Bourke9:08 am 28 May 25

Should really be taking our electricity fully public ‒ á la SEC mark 2 in Victoria ‒ stopping AGL price gouging Canberrans.

HiddenDragon10:50 pm 27 May 25

Just by way of perspective, over the last ten years, what is now ACTEWAGL’s default offer for residential customers has seen increases of 61% for the daily supply charge, 86% for off-peak usage and 78% for the rest – which compares to CPI inflation of about 30% in the same period.

Capital Retro10:09 am 28 May 25

But wages and personal income have not increased commensurately with this and that is why we are heading for third world status.

So, the regulator relies on rubbery figures and excuses as supplied by the power companies to grant excessive increases far in excess of annual CPI again. Whilst our miniscule wage increases or people on fixed incomes which are eroded by unjustified increases by foreign own companies. Even though the ACT Government only owns 50% of ACTEWAGL. Next will be another massive rate increase to help pay for the billions of dollars the ACT Government owes for our healthcare because that’s another thing they can’t manage!

You can predict the comments on these articles almost like clockwork.

2024 prices up 12.75%, usual suspects very vocal

https://region.com.au/actewagl-cleared-to-lift-electricity-prices-by-nearly-13-per-cent/772704/

2023 prices up less than inflation at 4%, no comments from any of the usual suspects

https://region.com.au/electricity-bills-to-rise-but-renewables-shielding-act-says-barr/669340/

2022 reduction in prices of over 1%, usual suspects very quiet

https://region.com.au/canberrans-will-save-on-their-electricity-bills-as-prices-soar-around-the-country/564356/

etc. etc.

Didn’t they shoot up at other times. Plus prices are tax plus bills.

How come prices are rising in the ACT when we are 100% renewables. If they are blaming the price on coal…

Henry,
Almost like you could read the actual ICRC report to answer your inane questions.

and so we wait.
Wait for people to wake up.
Wake up from the dream that when politicians promise something, and then come up with an excuse for why it wasn’t delivered, that the excuse isn’t the thing to focus on, but the lie that was give as a promise.
Nothing is going to get better or cheaper from hereon unless people wake up and put pressure on the politicians to do something.
But at this stage we’re a log way from that – stuck at people really thinking that the promise is real, if only we can get over the constant ‘unexpected’ or ‘uncontrollable’ barriers to it.

For someone who seems to be fully in support of right wing populism this is quite the delusion.

So what would you suggest Vasily. How about building some vastly more expensive nuclear power plants, fully paid for by the taxpayer? That should really help the problem right? Right?

Ha ha ha ha

If we really want to do something about our very expensive and out-of-control power prices, it’s time to ditch net zero. The concept of Australia producing no net CO2 output is just laughable, we’d have to move into caves.

Regardless of feasibility, the cost of chasing the net zero dream continues to climb and climb, as these 10% price rise numbers show. Every new solar plant, every new wind turbine just sends costs higher and higher. Rather than delivering $275 price drops, Labor refuse to even tell us how much their green dream will cost.

Like lemmings walking off a cliff, arms outstretched, muttering “renewables are cheaper, renewables are cheaper”, we’re just heading for economic and lifestyle calamity.

The irony of a supporter of an even more expensive pathway wanting to ditch this one…….

Like a broken record, whining and whining and whining, with no end in sight.

You lost an election on this fact free culture wars drivel….try again.

“we’d have to move into caves” – not true, to achieve Net-Zero we’d have to produce 5x as much CO2 as we currently do to offset the CO2 absorbed by the oceans in Australian territory

It’s more complex than that and not an easy out ending net zero, Bill…

Some information:
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/June/oceans-absorb-emissions

Penfold, Its time for the political parties to sit down and write a comon policy on Electricity and gas. Its time to act like grown ups and stop wedging the public. If nuclear is in the mix then it needs to be proven that its cheaper than the alternitives, not a policy written on the back of a napkin and must be fully costed. Alternitive must be fully costed to including transmission lines.

The way things are going we will end up with a massive evergy drought and rolling blackouts summer and winter.

Im sick and tired of all the silly games

Wouldn’t that be nice clarkea, a national consensus. The climate wars have been going on since Rudd declared it the “greatest moral challenge of our time”.

But how do you intend to facilitate détente ? We’ve got a Labor government and Energy Minister who won’t tell the truth about power prices, who publish dodgy CSIRO reports and walks around squawking “renewables are cheaper”. An Energy Minister is supposed to consider all options. If Labor are serious they have to split the climate change and energy roles. And get fair dinkum about the issue.

Perhaps they could start by addressing how much the transition to renewables will cost. Perhaps they could discuss why nuclear is popular overseas but bad for Australia. Perhaps they could explain how nuclear reactors in submarines are good but nuclear reactors on land are bad.

And then perhaps they could tell us why we should support Paris when very few other countries will deliver and so many more won’t even try to deliver.

But of course they won’t. Their blinkered science is settled.

So I should feel better that we have the lowest power prices around but I will still pay more , gas prices are up even though we have a country full of it . We are really stuffed

The state of the gas market as is a right wing disgrace. Caused by the donkey John Howard and his buddy Laughalot Costello. There is no shortage of supply of gas – we have plenty of the stuff already developed. It is just being sold off for a dime (and indeed in the case of Japan – then resold at profit) because of horrendous deals going back to the Howard Government. Another of his joyous legacies.

Reads the article: Price is going up, driven by multiple facts, Canberra still has amongst the lowest prices in the country.

Read the comments: Renewables fault for price rises but not for lowest prices in the country.

Got to love the logic.

So, just because our increase isn’t as bad as the rest of the nation, means that it’s not because Australia is abandoning the cheapest, most reliable method of generating lots of electricity??

But, Bill, Australia isn’t abandoning renewables!

“Australia is abandoning the cheapest, most reliable method of generating lots of electricity??”

Strange when Australia has committed to significantly higher rates of the cheapest form of power as part of government targets.

lol @Bill wilful ignorance doesn’t change the fact that renewables are the cheapest form of energy (see the Gencost report) and coal is 18th century technology so it’s never been “reliable”…indeed baseload which is often misunderstood by culture warriors was “the minimum, continuous amount of electricity required to meet the consistent demand on an electrical grid.”….because coal units go down all the time and they take several hours to start up…which has increasingly becoming a non-issue in our demand/response grid thanks to gas and renewables with firming technology.

It helps to be informed.

Bill, forgive our mathematically and historically challenged comrades. They missed the astonishing growth of Australia through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s on the back of an energy competitive advantage and a productive Australia.

Well we all know Penfold you can’t even do basic percentage calculations. So spare us all the lectures.

Strange you bemoan a desire to have an energy competitive advantage, but so firmly against development of a sector where we have the opportunity to develop an enormous competitive advantage based off green energy sources.

But you don’t really get irony now, do you.

“Bill, forgive our mathematically and historically challenged comrades”

Why would he want to forgive you Penfold? I thought you would be in general support of each other.

600% of evidence free Goldfish agree.

Bill, forgive Penfold, he seems to think no other country in the world had access to electricity or something….he says stuff like this…best to back away slowly.

@Penfold
Australia still has “an energy competitve advantage” in the realm of renewables.

Perhaps you can demonstrate how energy prices would currently be cheaper, if fossil fuel power stations were our only source of energy?

Well JS I guess the term “competitive advantage” is a foreign one. With the 10th highest power prices in the world thanks to renewables, we lost our competitive advantage years ago.

Why do think our manufacturing industry is dead ?

“With the 10th highest power prices in the world thanks to renewables”

LOL, 2 lies in one statement, well done Pengold.

Capital Retro12:08 pm 28 May 25

Just consult history, JS.

Geez you’re asking a lot there CR.

@Penfold
“With the 10th highest power prices in the world …”
Did you really think you could get away with a bold faced lie, Penfold 🤥

We are in fact the 10th lowest of OECD countries:
https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/international-electricity-prices-how-does-australia-compare/

@Capital Retro
And what history would that be, CR? The history where energy prices never went up – like maybe the medieval times of Catweazel?

Capital Retro4:23 pm 28 May 25

No, the second half of the 1900s when coal generated electricity was powering our industries.

Good grief, that was taught in primary schools.

Back in 2022 that may have been true JS. In 2024 the numbers had changed:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/263492/electricity-prices-in-selected-countries/

Any other bald faced lies you need clarified ?

@Penfold
Yes, Penfold, actually I do need to you to clarify your lie.

Actually, I’ll even settle for the rider “selected countries” as your link states … because a wider 2024 comparison shows Australia at 13 highest ( just above the 50 percentile for the 30 countries ranked):
https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/energy/features/changes-in-electricity-prices-globally/

Penfold,
I already knew what link you were going to post when I pointed out your obvious lies previously.

Hilarious when you see the link literally have “electricity prices in selected countries” in the text.

Hmmm, although maybe Pengold thinks there’s less than 30 countries in the world?

Another failed subject he’ll have to revisit with some remedial classes.

More disingenuous and incorrect comments from Pengold. Lifting the bar-hahahahaha.

@Capital Retro
Oh you mean when you were at primary school, and coal fired power stations were relatively new builds, and not being consistently taken off line for maintenance or decommissioned for inefficiency, as is happening now, CR?

Got you – may as well be medieval history.

Well you’re entitled to your opinions JS, but certainly not your facts. The Statista numbers (25c USD /Kwh) i posted were June 2024. After two years of hard Labor. The Energy Council numbers you posted were 17.6c USD /Kwh), while the Coalition were in charge. Does that mean that under Labor prices have risen 53.4% ? Feel free to challenge the maths.

Now feel free to quibble about 10th place v 13th place, but there’s more proof that more renewables, higher prices.

And seriously JS, are you having a go at CR about age ???

Capital Retro10:20 pm 28 May 25

Actually, Liddell was commissioned about 1968 and it was deliberately closed down about 55 years later. I used to drive past it twice a week while it was being built.

How many of your beloved solar and wind factories will last 24/7 for 55 years, JS?

@Penfold
It seems that there are different numbers available depending on which site is used, Penfold.

The other site, with 2024 figures, I provided, showed that from 2020 (US$0.261/kw), before peaking in 2023 (US$0.266/kw), the price dropped in 2024 (US$0.246/kw) … so those figures don’t prove more renewables, higher prices.

Oh, and I see now, that hair splitting is inconvenient for you – as 13 is not 10! Though if you look at chewy14’s data, is not even hair splitting, as 10 is definitely not 21!

No, as a senior myself, I have no desire to engage in ageism. I’m having a go at CR, because he is clinging to ancient history, to prove … ummm … errr … well absolutely nothing, as usual.

JS it’s pretty easy to map power prices since 2007 when the great JWH introduced the first national RET. Up, up and away. It’s an unlikely source, but here’s what the Australia Institute produced a few years back. Note the extraordinary price explosion verses CPI since 2007. The only relief was when Abbott repealed the carbon tax.

https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/electricity-costs/

As for chewy’s data, well I can’t say there’s much credibility there. The other day he started carrying on about some “100% renewables offset”. When I asked what it was all we got was the usual venom, meaning he was making stuff up.

Oh, the other funny part of that AI report JS was that they thought they were making a case against privatisation. In hindsight they were making the case against renewables. Interestingly the terms “renewable”, “solar” and “wind” do not appear in the report a single time.

@Capital Retro
Hmmmm … cost of building and maintaining a solar or wind farm versus cost of a building and maintaining a coal fired power station? Chalk and cheese, CR.

But keep reminiscing, CR – I’m sure memories of driving past a structure, which spewed toxic cr*p and carcinogens into the atmosphere, brings back fond memories for you.

Capital Retro8:27 am 29 May 25

But chewy, those “prices” are in US dollars.

@Penfold
You obviously have a complete handle on that Australia Institute report, so perhaps you can explain how, between 1996 and 2016, the unwieldy increase in management (217%) and sales (396%) staff, as opposed to actual electricity producing workers (somewhere between 21% and 83%), is a case against renewables?
Also, as the report states:
“sales staff have increased almost 400 per cent. That would have been an unproductive activity twenty years ago; nobody was required to sell electricity. Electricity sold itself and only needed management to understand how to produce it.”
So what changed with privatisation, that ‘neccessitated’ this explosion in management staff numbers and the sales department?

Gregg Heldon4:54 pm 26 May 25

Or….. be in a townhouse complex that is in an embedded network with Origin Energy and get charged like nothing else. We cannot shop around.

Well what a shock, power prices are going up over 10%.

And in a further shock, the large scale renewables feed in tariff (LFiT) is rising a whopping 617%. The ACT government describes this as “part of our commitment to clean energy”. What a joke.

Just further proof that more renewables, higher power prices.

More blathering and dodgy figures from Penfold, maintaining the rage at renewable energy and lefty governments. Fresh from a LNP election loss where the party was comprehensively thrashed for their environmental and energy policies which included building less renewable energy, expanding and keeping Australia’s coal plants open and introducing nuclear power. Peter Dutton refused to explain the policies or how they would work or even visit towns earmarked for nuclear reactors. We even had the Lib candidate in neighbouring Eden-Monaro talking up the prospect of plonking a nuclear reactor in Queanbeyan despite her living in Cooma. The voters certainly gave her short shrift!

Jack please give our regards to Mr Barr at the ALP happy hour.

Well Jack you are correct about one slightly erroneous calculation, wonder if you can spot it. As for everything else, perhaps you could point out any errors.

As has been previously discussed here, there’s no proof that voters turfed out the Coalition due to energy issues.

But it sound like you’re happy with the massive price rises, happy to pay more to stay wrapped in that snuggly renewables blanket that spreads virtue petals across the land. Must be nice to be rich. For most other Australian, the cost of living is a disgrace and Labor’s energy policies are front and centre.

What a surprise that Pengold doesn’t understand how the contracts for the feed in tariff work as well.

Particularly when we are paying for 100% renewables offsets, yet have some of the lowest power prices in the country.

Lower prices in the ACT, 100% renewable offsets.

Oh and it would be remiss of me to not mention you’ve calculated the percentage increase wrong again, that remedial maths class isn’t paying off just yet.

Those cherries are tasty hey Pengold, LOL.

chewy – not much of a cherry fan to be honest, grapes are much nicer.

Perhaps you could explain what these mythical “100% renewables offsets” are. You seem a bit conflicted above as to whether they’re a good thing or a bad thing.

And yes there was a slight calculation error but i’m wondering if you were able to analyse the correct one. Given your previous mathematical …. errr …. ‘challenges”, perhaps you’d like to identify it.

“Perhaps you could explain what these mythical “100% renewables offsets” are”

Well at least I can’t claim you aren’t honest by freely admitting to not knowing about the topic before going all guns blazing in assigning your pre-determined ideological causes.

“You seem a bit conflicted above as to whether they’re a good thing or a bad thing.”

Nothing conflicted here, I’ve consistently posted that the ACT government shouldn’t have been involved in attempting to pick long term commercial winners in the energy market in this way.

You however do seem conflicted, when the ACT has some of the lowest power prices in the country whilst paying for 100% renewable offsets.

Along with previous articles on this issue when the ACT was protected from large increases in power prices because of those very same FIT contracts.

Strange you only seem to pick those cherries when you think it suits, even though this example goes directly against your own simplistic correlation claims.

“And yes there was a slight calculation error”

Thanks for admitting your mathematical error, maybe one day you’ll improve but that might actually involve learning something new.

chewy you’re quite right, i have no idea what these mythical 100% renewables offsets are. Can you explain ? Surely someone as intelligent as yourself can explain your supposed facts to we minions.

Lest you’re telling porkies of course.

Penfold says:

“chewy you’re quite right”

Thanks.

“I have no idea “

We know.

Thanks for admitting your comments, despite being so strident and ideological, come from ignorance of the issue at hand.

Do better, lift the bar.

Has penfold been skipping his CIT % classes again Chewy? Colour me shocked lol.

chewy i was hoping to be educated by your intelligence and prowess but all you can come up with is vacuous waffle.

I’m certainly admitting ignorance on this “100% renewables offset”. Since chewy can’t, can anyone else explain it ?

“vacuous waffle”. Yes Penfold, we see you.

Why you are asking for an explanation of anything containing a percentage when you are yet to pass that class? Troll’s bait can wait.

I suspect he has already been kicked out of that class Axon 😛

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