Queensland is one of the largest states in Australia, and in July next month, it is going to see a major price hike in terms of electricity production. Many people have already been angry regarding the price hikes; since 2008, prices of electricity have more than doubled and now, it is expected that these electricity prices are going to increase by around 22.6 percent more, adding an extra $260 or more on the electricity bills of people. Already, a significant amount of the population is paying their electricity bills in installments, which means that such an increase would totally cripple them.
More importantly, this increase in prices is going to cause a severe damage to the business community of the state. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Queensland has already made a public statement and a press release has been put forth, which condemns the price hike and gives the statistics that show the damage that businesses have been dealt as a result of these increases. More than 60, 000 businesses have been permanently disbanded as a result of the previous price hikes, and top name companies such as Xstrata and Heinz have left the region, and now it is widely expected that various other companies are going to take leave as well.
Also, the residential sector has now reached a limit. People who are unable to clear their existing electricity bills will have to pay even more now thanks to the price hike, which means it will become terribly difficult for them to afford electricity itself, a basic utility. Therefore, a significant portion of the population has begun to move towards renewable sources of energy production, such as wind and solar energy. Solar energy plants are the most common, with prices reduced to almost half from the past five years.
Schools are also likely to face the brunt of this price increase. This is primarily due to the fact that the rising prices of electricity in government schools has made it tremendously difficult for principals to be able to manage costs effectively, since the budget for schools remains the same.
Even though the Premier said that he does accept partial responsibility for the increase in the electricity prices, he was also quick to state that the previous government was also responsible. He said that the solar feed in tariffs introduced by the government played a major part in the increase in electricity prices, while the carbon tax also played a part.
However, the residential sector has been entirely unconvinced by the statements of the premier, and it just goes on to show the rising amount of resentment that people now hold for him. With elections held for September 14th, it is likely that a change of government might bring improvements, though nothing can be improved within the year. As a result, power increases in Queensland are likely going to cause even more trouble for people who already find it difficult to pay their bills.
The post Power Prices in Queensland to rise even higher than expected appeared first on Business Electricity.
