Released 19/08/2016
A new study from GetUp has found Canberrans are getting a much better deal on electricity than other Australians.
GetUp’s research, published this week, found people over the border in New South Wales as well as in Victoria and South Australia are paying the so-called ‘Big Three’ energy retailers two to three times more for electricity than Canberrans pay.
The research argues prices for consumers in the ACT are better because it is a regulated market, while in NSW, retail price deregulation appears to have not delivered more competitive prices for consumers.
In the ACT, Canberrans are saving money at the same time as the territory moves towards 100 percent renewable energy by 2020, sooner than originally planned to take advantage of competitive prices.
The move to 100 percent renewable electricity is also creating jobs. Over the past five years, renewable energy-related jobs have grown six times faster in the ACT than any other state or territory in the nation, and twelve times faster than the national average.
The findings of the Get-Up report mirror the work of the Australian Energy Market Commission which found electricity was significantly cheaper in the ACT than over the border in NSW.
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Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases