Here to help customers on electricity prices

The independent Tasmanian Economic Regulator has today announced that prices will increase for both Aurora Energy residential and small business customers for 2023-24.

On average prices will increase by 9.51 per cent, primarily driven by high wholesale energy costs, with a range of recent national and global events placing significant upwards pressure on the wholesale energy market in Australia.

These increases will not be unique to Tasmania, and energy customers around the country will likely face much higher prices hikes, many in the vicinity of 20-29 per cent, with some major providers' prices increasing even more.

While the news is better in Tasmania, Aurora Energy CEO Nigel Clark acknowledged the difficulty already being felt by customers and wanted to reassure that Aurora is here to help.

“We know today’s news is going to make it very tough on some individuals and families who are already struggling to make ends meet,” Mr Clark said.

“As Tasmanians ourselves, we understand the difficulty already being felt by Tassie homes and businesses. We have more support than ever to help Tasmanians doing it tough.

“We encourage any customer who may be struggling to keep on top of their energy bill and are in need of support to get in contact. The sooner they get in touch, the sooner we can help.

“As Tasmania’s 100 per cent owned and operated energy retailer, we’re committed to remaining true to who we are at our core – Tasmanians supporting Tasmanians.”

Support includes payment extensions, payment plans, direct financial assistance through the Aurora Customer Support Fund and relief through the nationally recognised Your Energy Support (YES) program, which provides tailored support for customers in hardship.

aurora+ is also available at no additional cost to enable all Tasmanians to better understand and control usage to help keep energy costs down.

“Inefficient energy use is a key driver of high power bills, which is why we’re focussed on helping customers become more energy efficient through practical solutions and tools,” Mr Clark said.

Last week Aurora Energy announced a further $200,000 contribution to top up the Tasmanian Government’s energy hardship fund, administered by The Salvation Army, to directly support customers who need an extra hand to pay their energy bill.

In addition, the Tasmanian Government has partnered with the Commonwealth Government to provide $90M in bill relief to eligible households and small businesses from 1 July, with households to receive $250 annually over two years and small businesses $650 in 2023-24.

Visit auroraenergy.com.au/residential/payments/concession-information for further details.

The Annual Electricity Concession will increase by 9.51 per cent to a total of $629 per year.

The Regulator also announced the Feed-in Tariff rate for customers with solar installations will be increased to 10.869c/kWh due to the increase in the wholesale electricity price for 2023-24.

Any customers that need an extra hand are encouraged to contact Aurora’s YES Team (Monday to Friday from 9am-4.30pm) on 1300 10 2010.