The true reason for the massive increase in electricity prices has been the rise in network costs. As stated in the July edition of The Monthly:

“According to the federal treasury, 51 per cent of your electricity bill goes towards ‘network charges’. The carbon tax, despite relentless propaganda to the contrary, is small beer, comprising just 9 per cent. The rest of your bill is carved up between those companies that actually generate your electricity (20 per cent) and the retailers who package it up and sell it to you (20 per cent)”.

The federal government seems to have been operating hand-in-hand with state governments to unnecessarily spend billions of dollars on infrastructure which we now know is totally unnecessary.

This has been happening over the past five years ever since the Australian Energy Regulator approved $45 billion of spending on infrastructure upgrades based on inflated electricity demand forecasts.

In reality, electricity demand has been falling over this period. This has been due in part to a very large uptake in solar systems across 

Australia and consumers better managing their electricity use through energy efficiency measures. e.g. changing appliances and lighting to more energy-efficient models.

It appears governments have had an agenda for a long time to increase the capital base of the electricity network in Australia with the purpose, no doubt, of selling it to private enterprise.

That’s the real reason for the steep rise in electricity prices but what difference will you and I notice when the carbon tax is removed?

Tony Abbott claims that the average household will be $550 per year better off without the carbon tax.

The NSW government has mandated that electricity bills state the federal carbon tax and green energy schemes add $332 per year to the average household’s electricity bill.

It would appear this notice on all NSW electricity bills is carefully worded so that the $332 includes the costs of other federal and state schemes (not just the carbon tax) to muddy the waters further. 

But one thing seems clear – the NSW state government and the federal government are colluding to blame higher electricity prices on the carbon tax.

I recently viewed an electricity bill for a pensioner for the three months period to March 2014 which came to $275, which would put his annual bill at roughly $1100.

The removal of the carbon tax (9 per cent of his bill) would only save him $99 per year.

On the other hand, the benefits which flowed from the previous federal government’s carbon tax scheme would entitle him to approximately $338 extra per year (estimated for a single pensioner).

The then deputy prime minister and Treasurer, Wayne Swan, predicted the benefits introduced along with the carbon tax would be as follows:

“From July 1, 2012, every taxpayer earning up to $80,000 a year will receive a tax cut, with most getting at least $300 annually. A second round of tax cuts will apply from  July 1, 2015, increasing this annual saving for most taxpayers earning below $80,000 a year to at least $380.”

Rather than saving us money as Tony Abbott would have us believe, the abolition of the carbon tax will see pensioners, low-income households and the disadvantaged worse off.

I cannot see how collecting money via a tax such as this can be at all bad for a nation when the money flows back into the community.

The Coalition governments are only telling half the story and  neglecting to tell us about the benefits flowing from the collection of the carbon tax.

Robert Taber

Armidale