Increase in households struggling to pay power bills

More than 34,000 extra households are now suffering hardship because of their energy bills according to the Australian Energy Regulator. It says that 1.7 per cent of customers are now on hardship programs, compared with 1.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2022. The average hardship debt is around $1,692 – down on a year earlier. Though energy companies are required to have schemes to manage hardship, the AER says indicators shows these programs are not yet fully effective. Tomorrow the AER will hand down its latest draft determination for the 2024–25 Default Market Offer for gas and electricity. It's expected to confirm the second consecutive year of 20 per cent plus electricity price rises.