Why electricity prices have gone up and 4 ways to protect yourself
Wholesale electricity costs have surged, and retailers have passed the pain on to households. Here's why, and four practical ways to shield your budget.
Wholesale electricity costs have risen sharply in recent years, and households relying solely on the grid have felt the squeeze as retailers pass those increases on. If your bills have crept up, you're not imagining it.
Why have prices gone up?
Two key forces have driven prices higher:
- Demand outpacing supply: ageing coal-fired power stations going offline for maintenance, combined with cold snaps that push up demand.
- Global energy pressures: international demand for gas has tightened supply that would normally cover shortfalls, flowing through to local prices.
The result is higher wholesale costs that ultimately reach households through their energy retailer, adding to the broader cost-of-living pressure many families are feeling.
4 ways to protect yourself
If you rely entirely on the grid, switching to a natural energy source like the sun is a smart move. Millions of Australian households have already installed rooftop solar to cut their grid use.
1. Get certainty with solar power
A typical family with a 6kW system can save meaningfully on annual energy bills, and households with solar generally have bills well below those without. The bigger your system, the better positioned you are for an electrified future, handy if an EV is on the horizon.
2. Consider both solar power and solar hot water
Because water heating is around 25% of a household's energy use, pairing solar power with solar hot water tackles two big slices of your bill at once. The two systems work hand in hand to deliver maximum savings.
3. Store your energy
Much of the solar you generate can be exported to the grid for a shrinking feed-in tariff. Storing it instead, in a home battery, or as hot water with a Solahart PowerStore, lets you use more of your own clean energy and rely less on the grid.
4. Track usage with a Home Energy Management System
A Solahart Energy Management Unit monitors what you generate, tracks what you consume, and automatically shifts appliances like your water heater away from expensive peak times. View your live energy data anytime through the atHome app, and watch the savings add up.
For a free, no-obligation in-home consultation, get in touch and we'll identify the right solution for your home.