Backtracking on clean energy means higher bills

Victorian households and businesses would face skyrocketing power bills under Liberal and One Nation energy policies, while continuing the state’s renewable energy rollout will protect consumers from surging costs, according to new analysis released today by Environment Victoria.

The report, prepared by Naru Research, reveals a stark contrast between continuing the clean energy transition and the alternative policies on offer, which risk driving up energy bills across the state.

Key findings include: 

• Victoria’s gas fields are rapidly running out – Liberal and One Nation policies to reverse Victoria’s gas reforms would lead to higher energy bills in the next term of government. Even with a reversal on fracking, there is no more gas to commercially exploit.

• Gas prices have surged 62% over five years in Victoria, while electricity prices rose by just 18% over the same period.

• Households that have electrified through existing Victorian programs have saved $185 million over the past three years, providing permanent protection from future gas price shocks.

• Delaying Victoria’s coal closures will hike retail electricity bills by 32% to 48% by 2030, costing households an extra $408 to $614 a year.
  
  
• Victoria’s aging coal power stations are increasingly unreliable, with an average of one-quarter of the state’s fleet offline during peak demand last summer.

• The earliest nuclear power could come online would be in 20 years time – 2046. Nuclear power would add more than 40% on average to Victorian electricity bills, according to 2024 IEEFA analysis, with larger households hit hardest.

Jono La Nauze, CEO of Environment Victoria said:

“The evidence is clear: coal, gas and nuclear can’t deliver affordable, reliable energy for our state. The only credible way forward is to continue the rollout of clean energy that already supplies 45% of Victoria’s electricity.

“The era of cheap, abundant gas has come to a close in Victoria. Scrapping all-electric rules for new homes won’t magically fill our empty gas fields – it will simply lock Victorians into a volatile global energy market which has already seen households paying 62% more for gas than they were five years ago.

“The data is in – electrification is driving down energy prices, yet Coalition and One Nation energy policies aim to hook Victorian households and businesses back up to the most expensive fuel on the market. It’s madness to direct families back onto gas when electrification has saved Victorians $185 million to date and there’s another $6.6bn in savings to be had in the years ahead.

“When it comes to Victoria’s ageing power stations, extending the life-span of failing, decades-old coal plants isn’t just an environmental disaster – it’s a financial hit on Victorian families. This research shows that everyday energy users would end up forking out over $600 more a year just to keep dilapidated old power stations on life support.

“At this election your future power bill is on the ballot. You can either choose an energy platform that looks to Victoria’s future with clean renewable energy and shields us from future energy shocks, or turn back to old policies that squeeze money out of Victorian households to subsidise dying, polluting industries of the past.”

Download the report here