Years of political uncertainty surrounding the National Energy Market is set to lead to more household power price hikes across the country this weekend.

Climate Councillor and former President of BP Australasia Greg Bourne said it should not come as a surprise that Australia’s major energy retailers are poised to significantly increase prices on July 1.

“Australia’s major energy retailers are reacting to a combination of problems in the National Electricity Market,” he said.

“This is the result of ongoing political uncertainty surrounding our nation’s energy and climate policy, along with the skyrocketing cost of gas over the past year alone.”

“Almost every state will see household electricity costs rise in the range of around 10 – 20 per cent.”

Bourne said the only option to move forward and drive power prices down was for the Federal Government to restore confidence in the energy markets through setting a strategic direction for energy and climate policy; encouraging energy efficiency and demand management, while also welcoming new investments in renewable energy and storage technologies.

“Renewables like wind and solar are now the cheapest power source around and we need to roll out this technology swiftly in a bid to combat rising Australia’s energy prices and tackle climate change.”

For more information please contact Climate Council Media Advisor Alexia Boland on 0430 511 068.