Eastern Victorian households and businesses continue to be slammed by rising energy costs under Labor’s bungled energy transition, with new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures confirming electricity and gas prices are still climbing.
The ABS Consumer Price Index shows electricity prices rose 23.8 per cent between February 2025 and February 2026, while gas and other household fuels increased by 5.7 per cent over the same period.
The Nationals’ Melina Bath said Labor’s mismanaged energy transition and failure to deliver timely grid upgrades have driven up network and generation costs, which are being passed onto households and businesses.
“The Allan Labor Government has undermined investor confidence, created system instability and failed to deliver affordable and reliable power,” Ms Bath said.
“Traditional power generation is being turned off without replacement capacity, storage or transmission in place, guaranteeing higher energy prices for Victorians for many years to come.
“Beyond the significant job losses facing the Latrobe Valley, families across Victoria will continue to feel the impact through higher power bills that flow onto food, housing and essential services.”
Ms Bath said the latest figures echo the December 2025 Victorian Auditor General’s report, which highlighted that Labor’s mismanagement of the energy transition was undermining generation reliability and driving prices even higher.
“Every Victorian household and business is now paying the price for Labor’s energy failures and cost of living crisis, with renters and low-income earners hit hardest.
“Under Labor, working families are being squeezed from all sides struggling to pay the mortgage, cover rising bills and still put food on the table.
“Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage energy transition and regional Victorians are paying the price.”
