From the CEO
Everywhere I go at the moment I am reminded how much people are feeling financial pain.
The other day, I caught up with a friend who provides family care packages. She told me more than half of her clients have full-time (or multiple part-time!) jobs, but just can’t make ends meet. I've also heard some terrible stories of the trade-offs people are making to look after their kids.
Worryingly, we’re seeing this pain across the board when it comes to paying high energy bills. A survey we just completed – to be released soon – shows a considerable increase in strain for those in higher income brackets. Three years ago, 2% of people earning more than $150K told us they were under financial pressure; this month that number has risen to 12%, by far the largest percentage since we started tracking this figure in 2016.
Small businesses - often overlooked in these discussions - are clearly feeling the pinch as well. Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) recently completed a report, funded by Energy Consumers Australia, which examines how Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses are feeling about their energy bills and the transition. Strikingly, 34% said they experienced energy hardship in the last year – a higher figure than during the COVID lockdowns – and 21% said they’d had difficulty in paying their energy bill on time and in full.
Remarkably, 62% of small businesses within a shopping centre or embedded network (where they pay a landlord for energy) say they’re in energy hardship – a number regulators should keep in mind while they review embedded network rules.
Also remember this: while energy retailers are obliged to offer hardship assistance to residential customers, there is no obligation to do the same for small businesses, although some certainly do. This is a significant problem, and one that needs considerable attention.
So, it’s clear that cost pressures haven’t really abated for energy consumers. Pleasingly, the recent Federal Budget will provide some very welcome relief for both households and small businesses, but the underlying challenges remain.
Here at ECA we're not going to shy away from advocating for solutions to these problems. We're busy finalising our strategic plan for the next few years - which I can't wait to share with you - laying out how we want to tackle these challenges for consumers so everyone can benefit from the energy system in future.
Brendan
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