New data has confirmed that the NSW Government’s privatisation of electricity has led to Sydney taxpayers being gouged in their energy bills.
According to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, private energy providers have reaped massive super-profits compared to their publicly-owned counterparts, and households and businesses in Sydney are getting slammed for it.
Privatised firms such as Ausgrid or Endeavour collected 10.3 and 15.6 per cent of the average energy bill respectively in excess super profits.
By comparison, the government-owned Essential Energy received a mere 0.2 per cent.
Ausgrid supplies energy to Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter regions, while Endeavour services the Greater Western Sydney region.
The report found that energy networks collected higher than normal profits between 2014 and 2021, totalling some $10 billion across the country – a “supernormal” profit of 67 per cent.
In NSW that meant that every single household was paying over $100 a year more than they should be – with the excess power bills borne primarily by those in areas serviced by electricity networks privatised by the Liberal National Government.
The report also found that “a significant proportion of supernormal profits” are leaving Australia for overseas.
In November 2020, Matt Kean pledged to the NSW Parliament that electricity bills would be lower under the Liberals.
But today, Sydney households have been left with the one of the most severe cost of living crunches in living memory. Endeavour customers have seen an average increase of 18.3 per cent in their bills this year.
Daniel Mookhey, NSW Shadow Treasurer said:
“This is a Liberal Government that is addicted to privatisation.
“The Premier has doubled down on privatisation and has not ruled out more of it.
“Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals is turning New South Wales into a US-style dog-eat-dog user-pays economy.
“The people of New South Wales are seeing it in their tolls, taxes, fees, charges and their energy bills.”
Mick Veitch, NSW Shadow Minister for Regional NSW said:
“At the last election, the Liberals promised no further privatisation, and they broke that promise as quickly as they returned to office.
“Customers in our regions won’t be fooled, Dominic Perrottet has refused to rule out privatising Essential Energy.
“And this degree of gouging is the sort of thing we can expect in the regions, when he does.”
DANIEL MOOKHEY MLC
NSW SHADOW TREASURER
MICK VEITCH MLC
NSW SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL NSW
