More Aussies Struggling to Pay Their Energy Bills Compared to Last Year: Regulator

People on hardship programs and behind in their payments have both gone up over the past financial year, as reforms suggested in 2023 still languish.

A close up of a power bill in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 22, 2012. Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

More people are in more debt to their energy suppliers than was the case a year ago, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has revealed in its annual retail markets report.

The proportion of electricity customers participating in hardship programs increased from 1.4 to 1.9 percent, and the average debt on entry to these programs increased by 23.7 percent for electricity and 33.5 percent for gas.