Electricity Prices: Average Household Electricity Bills Due to Rise

Once the Federal Government adopts it's emissions trading scheme households are expected to pay on average $7 week extra in electricity and gas bills.

It is expected that households will spend an average of $4-$5 extra per week, which is around $260 a year on electricity and an extra $2 per week - $104 a year on gas and household fuels.

As lower income households generally spend a higher proportion of their disposable income on emission intensive goods, they are likely to be slightly more affected by the introduction of an emission price. A single pensioner household with little disposable income will face an average price rise of 1.3%, yet wealthy households only face an average price rise of 0.9%.

The emissions trading scheme will be introduced from 2010.

With the amount of emissions, which can be pumped into the atmosphere, being limited by placing a price on carbon will no doubt provide incentives for big polluters to go green.

Low-income households will receive increased financial assistance from the government to offset these costs. City and country households are only facing an average of a one per cent price rise.

Even with the price rise (electricity and gas prices) will only have a minor effect on overall household consumption. Price impacts for petrol and meat will be deferred until later.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has rejected claims that the Treasury modeling on the impact of the scheme was already out of date, due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

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