Latest news with #pricehike
The Australian
a day ago
- Business
- The Australian
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 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 Duncan Evans
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
AEMC announces new rules in retail energy market, limits price hikes to once a year
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'. '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. 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.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Costco rival plots big price hikes on hundreds of home essentials: 'Buckle up'
Sam's Club is weighing price hikes on a range of products in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Kitchen appliances and outdoor decor are among the items that may see increases, according to chief financial officer Todd Sears. 'If we see those higher costs come in, certainly we have to take a look at all options,' Sears told the Wall Street Journal. The Costco rival, which earns 80 to 90 percent of its profits from paid memberships, is known for offering high-quality goods at low prices. Sam's Club is currently luring new members with annual fees of $20 rather than $50 and promising to freeze prices on more than 1,000 items through July 22. The chain has no immediate plans to raise food prices, but shoppers are skeptical. On Reddit, several users reported price jumps — including a $3 increase on Folgers coffee and a bump in meat prices. Walmart, parent company of Sam's Club, has also been raising prices due to tariff s. Target has also been hiking prices. While social media users claimed prices are growing, Sam's Club did not expect cost growth in food products from tariffs. A partial reason for this is that it would reduce the chain's costs by improving packaging to lengthen shelf life and using less packaging. Sam's Club also uses data and algorithms to calculate fruit demand, which are imported from countries like the US and Mexico. It has also been working to manage its inventory as a way to minimize product markdowns. Walmart frequently helps Sam's Club thrive by giving the chain access to its supply chain, which has helped the business fulfill orders and save money. With Walmart having already rose product prices last month, senior equity research analyst Steven Shemesh believes the potential price rise won't harm Sam's Club too much. 'Increasing prices is definitely a risk, but Sam's Club, being under the Walmart umbrella, has many more tools to mitigate the impact of higher costs than a lot of other retailers out there,' he said. Sam's Club usually offers pricier items than Walmart, and with the potential price rise on expensive products, it could lead to a weakening demand. 'If tariffs are hypothetically 60 percent on the barbecue grills, maybe next year you don't carry them. You just plan for less unit volume in that situation,' said Rupesh Parikh, a managing director at investment bank Oppenheimer & Co. Social media users are expecting product prices to keep rising as a result of tariffs Walmart was one of the retailers that issued a price increase warning last year. Employees leaked price changes on Reddit days after Walmart confirmed the growth, gradually turning into an avalanche of price hikes on popular products. The company was also forced to axe about 1,500 jobs even though its quarterly revenue has continued to be successful. A Costco executive warned shoppers of price hikes in December, and accusations of food court price growth swirled the internet soon afterward. Once tariffs began to do its damage on gold, the chain was forced to place limits on its popular gold bars. Costs of select products at Target and Best Buy rose by mid May after its CEOs issued their warning in March, and hikes in Adidas and Nike brands resulted in price changes at Macy's.
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan govt. to expand stockpiled rice sales to eateries, school lunch providers
Japan's government plans to expand sales of stockpiled rice under no-bid contracts to include eateries, food vendors and school lunch providers. The program to sell stockpiled rice to increase the supply was introduced in response to the doubling of supermarket rice prices within a year. The government has been receiving applications from retailers since June 11 to sell 120,000 tons of stockpiled rice harvested in 2021. Applications from 46 buyers for more than 18,000 tons of the rice were accepted through Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro told reporters on Wednesday that the orders are not close to exhausting the stockpile and it is unlikely that new orders will suddenly come in for tens of thousands of tons. He said that to help curb price hikes, he thought of making the rice available to eateries, meal vendors and school lunch providers who are in need of rice. Koizumi said the government will start accepting applications from them on Friday. He added that he wants to ensure that stockpiled rice is distributed as widely as possible under the no-bid contracts.
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Power price hikes to be capped in some states under new government reform
Power price hikes to be capped in some states under new government reform Published 18 June 2025, 8:51 am Households along Australia's East-Coast will soon get greater protection from electricity price gouging and unjustified fees under government reforms intended to limit price hikes. It follows a 16.3-percent rise in national electricity prices over the March quarter as energy rebates came off in some states.
