Power price pressure is piling on households and relief from soaring prices could take months to flow through, Australians are being warned.
Energy costs dominated federal politics and it looks set to continue through the summer recess and into 2023.
From next April, state and federal governments will roll out $3 billion in electricity bill discounts.
Energy expert Tony Wood, of the Grattan Institute, told 9News the federal government is aiming to ease the burden for the worse-affected households.
“The idea is to give relief to people who are under particular bill stress, financial stress.”
Together with price caps on coal and gas, the measures will leave the average household $230 less worse off, than it otherwise would have been.
Treasury forecasting shows the relief package will make some difference,. Electricity bills will increase by 47 per cent by 2024, compared with 63 per cent had the government not intervened.
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Meanwhile the political row over the push to renewable energy continues.
Government front bencher Tanya Plibersek insists greener energy means cheaper bills.
“We know electricity from renewable sources is the cheapest form of electricity in human history.”
But National Party leader David Littleproud says households will still be left with high bills.
“We believe in renewables but the speed in which the government is taking us down this track doesn’t match the practical reality of your energy bill.”
But moving rapidly to wind and solar powers is the key to helping drive down soaring power prices in the long term, AEMO chief executive Damien Westerman told Nine Newspapers.
Westerman said the impact of the Ukraine war meant efforts to prepare the national power grid for higher levels of wind and solar to protect against future global fossil fuel shocks were even more urgent, he said.
