Power bills tipped to double by 2030 as coal-fired plants go offline

NSW residents are in for a case of bill shock with retail power prices predicted to double by the end of the decade as more coal-fired power plants close to help Australia meet its “net zero” commitments.

According to research released Thursday by the free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, the anticipated closing of major power stations across the country including NSW’s Eraring, Liddell, Vales Point B and Bayswater facilities, will see a 310 per cent increase in wholesale power prices.

With wholesale costs making up about one-third of the average retail bill, that means that families could be in for a price increase of 103 per cent depending on what state or territory they live in.

NSW residents are expected to see a doubling of power bills as a ­result of the closures, with annual bills jumping from $1300 to $2600 per year.

However they will get off lightly compared to Queenslanders and Tasmanians, who are expected to cop 110 and 125 per cent hikes, ­respectively.

South Australia, which has long trumpeted its own push to renewables, will only suffer a relatively scant 90 per cent hike to retail prices, however with some of the most expensive bills in the country, families are expected to go from paying $1700 to $3200 per year to keep the lights on in 2030.

The IPA found that in the years 2010 to 2020, each megawatt of coal-fired power taken out of the grid led to a rise in electricity prices of about 2.2 cents per megawatt-hour.

“Net zero is designed by and for the privileged inner-city elites. But it is the real Australians in the suburbs and regions who are going to pay the price,” the IPA’s director of research Daniel Wild said. “Australia needs more reliable and affordable energy, not unreliable renewables.”