Australians facing huge increases in energy prices need only look to Britain to see the energy pain ahead.
Last winter, British families were forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table, and businesses across the UK closed their doors for good after receiving bills of more than £55,000 (AUD$100,000).
And in Australia, the energy regulator has flagged inbound price increases of between 19 and 30 percent in at least five states.
Electricity and gas prices in the UK increased by 54% and 99% respectively in just 12 months. Countless stories have emerged of households foregoing heating and using portable stoves to save on electricity costs.
One family even resorted to using headlamps inside their home at night to avoid turning on the lights.
Chavdar Todorov, 53, said he was moved to make the drastic changes when his electricity bill arrived and its price had more than doubled to £320 (AUD$580) per month.
The family limited heating their home to just once a week. The rest of the time they tried to keep warm by wrapping themselves in coats and blankets.
One family even resorted to using headlamps inside their home at night to avoid turning on the lights.
Headlamps, which turn on and react to movement, are used at night to navigate in the dark.
Meanwhile, business owners said they were hit with ‘ridiculous’ price hikes on their power contracts as winter approached.
A small cafe owner told MailOnline at the time that his business was about to close after the annual electricity bill rose from £10k to £55k.
And on social media, savvy consumers were sharing the tricks they’d learned in their desperation to stay afloat.
Some recommended showering at community gyms or at the office, while others suggested charging electronic devices at work or in public spaces to cut costs.
Cheap meals were shared at record prices to cut grocery bills, while pubs even reduced business hours to avoid financial ruin.
Many said they avoided using washing machines and dishwashers at certain times of the day, while others chose not to cook meals that required an oven.
As a result of the crisis in the UK, some councils skipped the Christmas lights festivities during the winter.
Australia warned to prepare for energy price hikes and gas shortages
For Australians struggling with the cost of living, the stingy strategies implemented during the UK’s winter of discontent may soon be needed closer to home.
On Thursday, the Australian Power Market Trader said Australians could experience gas shortages this winter and beyond amid a sharp drop in gas production.
AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said more production was needed to avoid shortfalls during winter peaks and beyond.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Radio that there are “a lot of things that need to be done” to address the problem.
“They need to get more gas supply, we need to improve the insulation of the houses,” he said.
“You can’t afford to make gas unaffordable and you certainly can’t afford to make people unable to heat their homes in winter.”
This graph illustrates how energy prices will skyrocket in several Australian states with the percentage increase and the extra amount it will add to an average energy bill in a year.
Australian households in four states will also face sharp rises in electricity prices in the coming months, as the country’s energy regulator flags up by as much as 31 per cent.
Victorians will see their bills rise by almost a third, while New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia will also see steep increases.
Australia’s Energy Regulator on Wednesday published its draft default market offer, essentially the maximum price that energy retailers can charge residential and small business customers, for the 2023/24 fiscal year.
The Victorian Essential Services Commission did the same for that state, noting a whopping 30 percent increase in electricity prices for households and 31 percent for small businesses.
This would cause a typical household bill to rise from $1,403 to $1,829 per year, while small businesses could expect an increase from $5,620 to about $7,358.
About 400,000 Victorian households and 55,000 small business customers are in that state’s default offer, according to the Commission.
For New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, the Australian Energy Regulator noted price increases of between 19.5 and 23.7 percent.
Some recommended showering at community gyms or at the office.
Default offers for residential customers in NSW were expected to increase by 20.9% to 23.7% for small businesses.
Queensland residential prices would rise almost 20 percent in the southeast of the state, while South Australia will see a 22 percent residential increase.
It estimated that small business customers could face price increases of between 14.7 percent and 25.4 percent, depending on their regions and providers.
The regulator said the increases would cause the average household bill to rise between $300 and $564 a year.
For the hardest hit areas of NSW, households could see their energy bill increase by as much as $463, while small businesses will see their bills increase by as much as $858.
This comes despite Treasurer Matt Kean’s promise to cut energy prices by $130 for homes and $430 for businesses this year.
On Tuesday, Kean instead laid out a new promise to New South Wales voters should the Liberal Party be re-elected next week.
Another tip suggested by some Britons was to charge electronic devices at work or in public spaces to cut costs.
He said: ‘In the short term we are giving $250 off families’ energy bills if they look for a better deal.’
Adrian Merrick, chief executive of Victorian power provider Energy Locals, said the power increases should have been avoided.
Merrick said that while fossil fuels “are not the future,” they were vital in the meantime until renewables could take over.
“In the short term, we need gas and in the short term, as unpopular as it is for some people, we also need coal,” he said.
Labor promised voters a $275 energy price cut by 2025 during the federal election.
With two years to go from that deadline, costs are skyrocketing and even more pressure has been piling on families and business owners.
Asked about Labour’s election promise to cut energy bills on Tuesday, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen vowed not to give up on cutting prices.
‘I am not going to give up on introducing more renewable energy because it is the cheapest form of energy. We indicated 2025…now it’s 2023. We have a lot more work to do,’ he said.
‘We continue to work to lower energy prices as much as possible. We are not going to give up that ambition.’
But Bowen was unable to provide a clear path as to when Australians might expect to see such relief on their bills.
‘We will always be very honest with Australians. There are enormous international pressures that show no sign of abating,’ he said.
‘I wish and hope that Ukraine can be victorious very soon and that is of course our dear friends in Ukraine, that is very important to them. It’s very important to people who care about political freedom anywhere, and it would be great if the global energy markets were back on track. I can’t tell you when that will happen.
“It is a very unstable and unpredictable environment in Europe and that will continue for some time. But what we will do is what we have done so far. Be honest with people about the challenges and work very hard, very carefully to intervene to reduce those pressures and those impacts on Australian families.’