Latest news with #Bowen
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Energy price rule changes to limit unfair bill hikes
Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026. Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Energy price rule changes to limit unfair bill hikes
Energy retailers will be barred from raising bills more than once a year and will be forced to remove unfair fees for vulnerable customers under new rules announced by the market rule-maker. The move will help reduce the complexity and opacity of the poorly understood electricity system, and prevent customers from being ripped off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. The changes announced by the Australian Energy Market Commission include preventing retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, banning excessive fees for late payments, and prohibiting fees for vulnerable customers. Retailers must also ensure vulnerable Australians are receiving their best available plan. The changes are intended to clamp down on retailers who lure customers in with cheap deals, only to move them onto higher cost plans or impose hidden fees and charges. "I'm not going to pretend that they're a silver bullet, but clearly, the situation hasn't been working," Mr Bowen told ABC Radio National on Thursday. "There are many, many Australians, either in hardship or not in hardship, who aren't on their best possible plan. That's not their fault. We need to make it as easy as possible for them to change." Research has found about 40 per cent of Australians don't read their energy bill. More needs to be done to ensure time-poor consumers receive their best offer, Mr Bowen said. But it's only part of a broader reform process to make the energy system simpler and fairer, he said. On Wednesday, Mr Bowen flagged tweaks to so-called Default Market Offer rules in a bid to force energy companies to compete harder for customer dollars and prevent unfair price hikes. The regulations were intended to establish a benchmark price to limit price gouging and put downward pressure on prices through competition between energy companies, but were not working as planned, Mr Bowen told the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne. Mr Bowen flagged reforms to the Australian Energy Regulator's price-setting mechanism for NSW, South Australia and Queensland to better align with Victoria's rules. The commission's rule changes will be phased in over the course of next year, with the first tranche coming into effect on July 1 2026 and the remaining changes applying from December 30 2026.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘80 per cent' of Aussies paying too much
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a raft of proposed reforms designed to save Australian households from soaring power prices. Speaking at Australian Energy Week in Melbourne on Wednesday, Mr Bowen said reform to the way the energy price cap mechanism worked outside of Victoria was needed in order to make price caps effective. 'Currently, the independent Australian Energy Regulator (AER) sets the default market offer (DMO) as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia, while here the Victorian default offer is set by the Essential Services Commission,' he said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced his intention to overhaul price cap regulators in 2026. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: NewsWire 'The DMO was intended to act as a benchmark price to stop the worst forms of price gouging while leaving the job of putting downward pressure on prices to competition. 'However, I'll be frank. I don't think it's working that way and reform is needed.' Mr Bowen said the vast majority of bill payers, 'some 80 per cent', could be getting a better deal. 'It's difficult to defend the DMO when the customer is required to do the deal hunting,' he said. 'We know it could be so much simpler.' Mr Bowen announced that in 2026 the federal government would be delivering a 'reformed pricing mechanism' designed 'to get the best deal for consumers and act as the maximum price retailers can charge for standing offers in DMO regions'. 'The reformed pricing mechanism will bring DMO states closer in line with other jurisdictions like here in Victoria, which this year has seen significantly smaller bill increases compared to DMO regions,' he said. The Victorian default offer (VDO) rose by less than 1 per cent in 2024–25, while the DMO varied much more widely; in NSW some residential customers experienced a decrease of about 1 per cent, while in South East Queensland prices increased by about 4 per cent. The announcement has drawn criticism from energy providers who say they're surviving on razor-thin profit margins as it is and the planned overhaul could put small energy providers out of business. AGL says to reduce bills, 'we need to look at the whole picture'. NewsWire /Brendan Beckett Credit: NewsWire One of Australia's biggest energy providers AGL issued a statement in response, saying it would look forward to engaging with the government on the review but 'to reduce energy bills, we need to look at the whole picture'. 'The government and industry are actively working on measures to reduce wholesale electricity costs. At 40 per cent of an average bill, network costs are a big component of bills and are continuing to grow quickly,' the statement read. 'A focus on improving network productivity is essential to keep these costs in check. Retail costs only represent around 10 per cent of an average bill and we need to carefully consider any moves that could lessen competition in the retail market, particularly if smaller retailers were no longer able to operate.'
West Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Could be so much simpler': Energy Minister Chris Bowen announces energy price cap overhaul
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a raft of proposed reforms designed to save Australian households from soaring power prices. Speaking at Australian Energy Week in Melbourne on Wednesday, Mr Bowen said reform to the way the energy price cap mechanism worked outside of Victoria was needed in order to make price caps effective. 'Currently, the independent Australian Energy Regulator (AER) sets the default market offer (DMO) as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia, while here the Victorian default offer is set by the Essential Services Commission,' he said. 'The DMO was intended to act as a benchmark price to stop the worst forms of price gouging while leaving the job of putting downward pressure on prices to competition. 'However, I'll be frank. I don't think it's working that way and reform is needed.' Mr Bowen said the vast majority of bill payers, 'some 80 per cent', could be getting a better deal. 'It's difficult to defend the DMO when the customer is required to do the deal hunting,' he said. 'We know it could be so much simpler.' Mr Bowen announced that in 2026 the federal government would be delivering a 'reformed pricing mechanism' designed 'to get the best deal for consumers and act as the maximum price retailers can charge for standing offers in DMO regions'. 'The reformed pricing mechanism will bring DMO states closer in line with other jurisdictions like here in Victoria, which this year has seen significantly smaller bill increases compared to DMO regions,' he said. The Victorian default offer (VDO) rose by less than 1 per cent in 2024–25, while the DMO varied much more widely; in NSW some residential customers experienced a decrease of about 1 per cent, while in South East Queensland prices increased by about 4 per cent. The announcement has drawn criticism from energy providers who say they're surviving on razor-thin profit margins as it is and the planned overhaul could put small energy providers out of business. One of Australia's biggest energy providers AGL issued a statement in response, saying it would look forward to engaging with the government on the review but 'to reduce energy bills, we need to look at the whole picture'. 'The government and industry are actively working on measures to reduce wholesale electricity costs. At 40 per cent of an average bill, network costs are a big component of bills and are continuing to grow quickly,' the statement read. 'A focus on improving network productivity is essential to keep these costs in check. Retail costs only represent around 10 per cent of an average bill and we need to carefully consider any moves that could lessen competition in the retail market, particularly if smaller retailers were no longer able to operate.'
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Energy minister plugs in for power price cap reforms
Caps designed to protect power users from excessive price hikes are not working as intended and need refining, the federal energy minister will concede in his first major speech since the election. A convincing Labor win also has Chris Bowen hopeful Australia can triumph in its bid to co-host global climate talks and muscle out competitor Turkey, with a decision expected soon. In a wide-ranging address to the Australian Energy Week conference in Melbourne, Mr Bowen will promise changes to the so-called Default Market Offer rules to force retailers to compete harder for customer dollars. "The DMO was intended to act as a benchmark price to stop the worst forms of price gouging, while leaving the job of putting downward pressure on prices to competition between energy companies," he will say on Wednesday. "However, I'll be frank. I don't think it's working that way and reform is needed." In several states, regulators enforce caps on what retailers can charge households and businesses to protect the hundreds of thousands of customers unable or uninterested in chasing a better deal. Caps are reviewed annually to reflect the costs of generation and moving electricity around through poles and wires. In NSW, South Australia, southeast Queensland, it's the independent Australian Energy Regulator's job, while in Victoria, the Essential Services Commission sets benchmark prices. Changes to AER's price cap mechanism have not yet been locked in, but could include clamping down on what retailers can claim back from customers on their bills. Mr Bowen said it was hard to defend price caps when 80 per cent of billpayers could be getting a better deal. "That's why we have work underway to deliver a better regulated pricing mechanism which will put downward pressure on electricity bills and also ensure the energy market better utilises the huge uptake of rooftop solar and batteries," he will say. Mr Bowen will declare Labor's thumping election win as a vote of confidence in its energy and decarbonisation policies. He says it puts Australia in a strong position to secure the rights to co-host the COP31 climate talks alongside Pacific nations. An announcement is possible at the UN climate meetings underway in Bonn, Germany. The bid has come under pressure following the federal government's proposed decision to grant an extension on the North West Shelf gas plant's operating life. The project was singled out by Oil Change International in a report showing the United States, Canada, Norway, and Australia are responsible for nearly 70 per cent of projected new oil and gas from 2025 to 2035.
