Oz Origin Energy Cuts Power, Gas Prices

Australia's Origin Energy will cut electricity and gas prices across New South Wales (NSW), Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from July, the power and gas retailer said on June 19 in a statement.

Prices in Victoria are reviewed on January 1 every year, so there are no changes to prices in that state at this time, it said.

“We’ve seen increased pressure on household budgets with the economic impacts of Covid-19 and higher electricity use with people at home more, so we are pleased to be able to provide some relief to customers through lower energy prices,” Origin executive general manager for retail Jon Briskin said.

The cuts vary by location, Origin said, with customers across Queensland and South Australia seeing average reductions in their electricity prices in the range of 4-5%. Across NSW, where electricity network costs have risen by approximately 2 to 3% for residential customers, Origin will absorb some of these additional costs so that most NSW customers do not receive an increase.

According to the company, wholesale electricity costs have fallen in all states this year, owing to more renewables coming online. The wholesale cost of gas has decreased across the country, while gas network costs vary between different regions, it said.

“All natural gas customers across Australia will see a price reduction, with the exception of residential customers in South Australia where Origin will absorb an increase in network gas costs to keep prices flat,” the company said.

Residential and small business customers in Queensland will see gas price declines of 0.3% and 2.7% respectively. In NSW, residential and small business customers will see drops of 7.1% and 7.8%. ACT residential and small business customers will witness falls of 1.2% and 2.1% respectively, Origin said.