The Minns Labor Government has been accused of slugging NSW families and small businesses with higher power bills, despite a dramatic fall in wholesale electricity prices.
During Budget Estimates hearings, Energy Minister Penny Sharpe acknowledged that energy prices in NSW have increased by 20 per cent, even as wholesale electricity prices have dropped by around 50 per cent.
The admission has raised serious questions about why households are paying significantly more for power at a time when the underlying cost of electricity generation has fallen so sharply.
Under questioning, Minister Sharpe indicated that the price increases were helping fund Labor’s renewables rollout, a transition the Opposition argues has been poorly planned, rushed, and mismanaged.
Shadow Minister for Energy James Griffin said the revelation confirms what families and businesses have been experiencing for months: soaring energy bills with no relief in sight.
“Families are opening their power bills and wondering how on earth prices can keep going up when we’re told wholesale costs are going down,” Mr Griffin said.
Member for Port Macquarie, Robert Dwyer said, “Instead of delivering savings to households, the Minns Labor Government is using higher energy prices to bankroll its own policy failures. People have every right to feel frustrated and angry.”
“Energy affordability should be a top priority for the Government, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis that is already placing enormous pressure on mortgage holders, renters, retirees, and small businesses,” Mr Dwyer said.
“Electricity is not a luxury it’s an essential service. When power bills jump by 20 per cent, it hits family budgets hard and puts additional strain on local employers who are already struggling with rising costs across the board.”
“Regional communities are being disproportionately impacted by rising energy costs and ongoing uncertainty around supply and reliability.
“People across our electorate are crying out for cheaper, more reliable energy,” Mr Dwyer said.
“Instead, they’re seeing higher prices and hearing excuses. Regional households and small businesses cannot continue to shoulder the burden of poor planning and delayed infrastructure.”
Mr Dwyer called on the Minns Labor Government to provide greater transparency around how energy pricing decisions are being made and to outline a clear pathway to deliver genuine bill relief.
The Opposition is demanding that the Government explain why retail electricity prices are rising so sharply despite significant falls in wholesale costs, and what safeguards are in place to ensure NSW consumers are not being unfairly penalised.
“With cost-of-living pressures continuing to bite, the debate over energy policy is set to remain front and centre, as households demand answers about when, and if meaningful price relief will arrive,” Mr Dwyer said.
