Financial pressure on household budgets is set to grow with power bills forecast to soar up to 140 per cent over the next five years in Victoria.
Infrastructure Victoria made the prediction in its draft 30 year strategy report citing the closure of Latrobe Valley’s coal fired power stations along with the high cost and slow roll out of renewables as contributing factors.
Speaking in state parliament The Nationals’ Melina Bath said Labor’s energy policies had failed struggling Victorian households and businesses who will be dismayed to learn their power bills will soar much higher.
“Labor’s energy policy is punishing consumers, charging more for a less reliable system.”
Ms Bath called on Labor’s Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio to set aside her political ideology against onshore conventional gas and support the industry for its firming capacity to relieve spiralling energy costs.
“Victorians are paying the price for this government’s reckless mismanagement of our energy system.
“The Allan Government must do more to ease the financial burden weighing down households and businesses, and using gas to supplement the power system during peak periods would help.
“Families are already struggling to pay their power bills, but under Labor they keep going up despite Minister D’Ambrosio famously spruiking under Labor they would “go down, down, down”.
“With so many families struggling to put food on the table and businesses struggling to remain viable and competitive, its unfathomable energy prices are set to rise by 140 per cent.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage the energy transition and Victorians are paying the price with high power bills.
