Power prices are at record highs and thousands of Queenslanders are struggling to pay their bills, having to resort to payment plans.
Over the past year, the average Queensland power bill has soared to almost $2000 a year, an increase of about 26 per cent.
Last quarter, more than 23,000 Queenslanders were on hardship plans, up 27 per cent from December 2022.
The average debt for customers on hardship plans with their power company is more than $1200.
Aimee McVeigh from the Queensland Council of Social Services (QCSS) said people were being forced into “impossible decisions between keeping a roof over their head, feeding their family nutritious food and paying the electricity bill”.
The latest affordability report by QCSS found that more than half of the people they surveyed had reduced their use of air conditioners and heaters to cut costs.
A quarter had changed the way they cooked, even cutting down on using the oven to save electricity.
“People are looking for ways to save and that can mean that they’re going to bed when it gets dark and not switching their lights,” McVeigh said.
“They’re not using their oven and instead opting to cook their food outside.”
