Tasmanian energy prices

It might surprise you to know that because Aurora is a regulated energy retailer, we don’t set the price that standing offer residential and small business customers pay for their power.

That’s up to an independent body called the Tasmanian Economic Regulator. They decide on a fair and reasonable price for standing offer Aurora customers.

All residential customers, and most small business customers are on standing offer agreements.

Yes. The independent Tasmanian Economic Regulator has announced prices will rise by 11.88% from 1 July.

Customers’ bills made up of a number of things but the biggest drivers are network and wholesale costs.

Network costs include maintaining poles and wires.

Wholesale energy rates are what retailers pay for electricity to supply customers with.

Some retailers have announced price increases of up to 100%. Although our price rise was not as much as some, we do understand that any price increase can have a significant impact on household budgets, and we have payment support available.

The Regulator also announced the Feed-in Tariff rate for customers with solar installations will be increased to 8.883c /kWh from 1 July due to the increase in the wholesale electricity price for 2022-23.

This is an increase of around 36%

The standing offer price increase is expected to increase the annual bill for a typical residential customer with median usage on the flat rate Lights and Power tariff (Tariff 31)/Heating and Hot Water tariff (Tariff 41) by around $227.

The increase for a residential customer with median usage on the residential Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff (Tariff 93) will be $196.

For small business customers on the flat rate business tariff (Tariff 22) with median usage, the increase is expected to be $176 per annum.

From 1 July, aurora+ will no longer have a daily fee and Aurora will not recover the cost for aurora+

If you have aurora+, you'll stop paying the fee automatically on the 1st of July.

Because Tasmania is part of the National Electricity Market (NEM) we don’t only use and buy power generated in Tasmania, this means that interstate and overseas events and pressures can have an impact on our prices.

Last year, wholesale prices decreased, Aurora Energy’s prices also decreased by 7.11% for residential and 11% for small businesses.

While most of the power we use in Tassie is generated by local hydro and wind, we do also use and buy power from the mainland.

The NEM (National Electricity Market) is one of the largest interconnected electricity systems in the world. It covers around 40,000 km of transmission lines and cables, supplying around 9 million customers.

The NEM is a wholesale market through which generators and retailers trade electricity in Australia. It interconnects the six eastern and southern states and territories and delivers around 80% of all electricity consumption in Australia. Tasmanian energy retailers are part of the NEM.

Each year, the Tasmanian Economic Regulator decides a fair and reasonable price for Aurora Energy's Standing Offer customers. The prices are announced around mid-June and the prices are effective from July 1st.

For customers of unregulated retailers this may be a risk. Unregulated retailers can generally change their prices more than once per year and choose to pass on any increases at any time, subject to their terms and conditions.

Aurora Energy is regulated, so we only change our standing offer prices once per year. This means that no matter what happens to wholesale prices after the price for a financial year is decided, you can rest assured that your price won't change at all until next financial year.

Aurora Energy is the only regulated energy retailer in Tasmania.

Aurora Energy has had some of the lowest regulated electricity prices in Australia for the last 6 years.

The main reason for high electricity bills in Tasmania is high usage. Our cold, dark winters can push bills up by around 50% in winter.

We can help you find ways to save and keep your bills down with expert efficiency advice, helping you find the right energy plan for your lifestyle, and seeing if you're eligible for aurora+.

Yes. The Tasmanian Government has announced the following:

• A $119 Bill credit for eligible concession account holders (this credit will be applied directly to bills from August 1st)
• The Annual Electricity Concession will increase $61, bringing the concession rate to 157.460 cents per day
• Energy Saver Loan Scheme - will provide up to $10,000 interest free loans for Tasmanians to invest in energy efficient products like heat pumps, double glazing, solar, and other energy efficient products and appliances. The Governments Energy Saver Loan Scheme is not yet open to applications. The Government will announce when the scheme is open for applications.

If you're struggling to pay your bills, keep your energy use down, or need help understanding your bill, we have more support than ever before.

Our $1.7M Customer Support Fund is there to help support residential and small business customers experiencing financial vulnerability. This will allow us to help people pay their energy bills and allocate more resourcing to people experiencing hardship through things like bill relief, waiving fees and charges, freezing debt, payment plans, and more.

aurora+ will no longer have a daily fee of 11c/day, allowing more customers to access their daily usage and manage their accounts.

We've extended our YES program incentive payment by another 12 months. Customers already participating in the YES program will receive one of their payments (up to $200) paid on to their Aurora Energy account.

Long and short term payment plans and extensions are available and for those who need more support, our industry leading YES program can help you get on top of your bills.

Our team of experts can also help you find ways to save energy and save money by giving you advice, helping you find the best plan for you, and seeing if you're eligible for aurora+