AEMC limits power bill price hikes in new retail energy market rules
Electricity retailers will be limited to hiking prices on consumers once a year in a major shake-up to the country's retail energy market.
The Australian Energy Market Commission announced the changes on Thursday, entrenching a sweep of new rules designed to protect consumers from price shocks.
Retailers are now limited to lifting prices once a year and must ensure customers who sign up to a plan with a temporary benefit do not roll over to one that is higher than the default price.
Further, there is now a ban on what AMEC calls 'unreasonably high penalties' for not paying bills on time, and a ban on fees, except for network charges, for vulnerable customers.
Providers must also limit fees charges to reasonable costs for all other consumers.
AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the new rules, which follow from requests submitted by state energy ministers in August last year, marked a 'significant milestone in consumer protection'.
Power bill increases will be limited to once a year under new rules from the AEMC: NewsWire / Brenton Edwards
'These reforms will help ensure that Australian households can have she said.
'For the first time, we have formally applied our updated equity guidance across these rule changes, explicitly considering how contract terms, benefits and fees may disproportionately impact vulnerable consumers.'
She said limiting energy price increases to once a year would help households 'predict' their energy costs and avoid unexpected price rises across the year.
The AEMC also announced a draft proposal to improve the visibility of the 'better offer message' that appears on energy bills.
The regulator claims as many as 40 per cent of customers do not always open their bills and so miss important messages about potential savings.
The draft rule would require retailers to present better offer messages in cover emails and bill summaries.
'The primary opportunity is visibility – ensuring customers know when better deals are available to them,' Ms Collyer said.
Australian Energy Market Commission chair Anna Collyer said the changes would help protect consumers from price shocks. Picture: AEMC
Canstarblue.com.au data insights director Sally Tindall said the changes were 'a step in the right direction' but more needed to be done to 'lift the clouds of confusion that hang over our electricity bills'.
'The new rule to limit price hikes to just once a year is a fantastic measure that will give Australians greater confidence when comparing their options,' she said.
'It means that Australians will be more likely to be comparing apples with apples when they do their research, particularly if the majority of retailers opt to implement any price hikes in July in line with the reference price changes.
'Right now, Australians looking for a competitive deal on their electricity plan really need to be checking on their rates at least once every six months.
'Limiting the number of price hikes to just one a year could reduce the need to check on your bill, freeing up time to focus on other expenses.'
The new rules come into effect from July 1, 2026, giving retailers 12 months to implement them.
Duncan Evans
Reporter
Duncan Evans is a reporter for News Corp's NewsWire service, based in Adelaide. Before NewsWire, he worked as a resources and politics reporter for The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland and as a reporter at CQ Today, an independent newspaper based in Rockhampton. He was raised in Emerald and Brisbane and studied English Literature and American Studies at the University of Sydney. He began his career in journalism working for the Jakarta Post in Indonesia for over two years as an editor, translator and writer. He is fluent in Indonesian.
@Duncanevans01
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