The McGowan Government’s second Household Electricity Credit will be applied by Synergy and Horizon Power from tomorrow (July 2), saving Western Australian households $400.
The credit was announced as part of the 2022-23 State Budget to assist WA households with cost of living pressures and has been paid for by the stronger than expected Budget surplus.
This builds on the McGowan Government’s $600 credit given to WA households in November 2020, which together with the $400 credit will provide $1,000 in electricity relief.
Households who are not directly billed by an electricity provider, such as residents of caravan parks, retirement villages, apartment buildings or communities supplied by local mining companies, will be eligible to apply for a credit. For more information about eligibility criteria, visit https://www.wa.gov.au
The McGowan Government also offers further support to those that need it most, through an Energy Assistance payment of $318. Combined with the $400 credit, this will provide some WA households cost of living relief of more than $710 this financial year.
From today, the household basket of fees and charges will decline by 3.8 per cent, including the impact of the credit, making it the third consecutive year that the basket of household fees and charges has been kept to below projected inflation.
In 2022-23, household fees and charges are four per cent lower than prior to the pandemic in 2019-20.
In total, the McGowan Government has now spent more than $2.1 billion over the past four years to deliver cost of living support.
As stated by Premier and Treasurer Mark McGowan:
“Our strong Budget management provides us the capacity to deliver the most generous power credit for households in the nation, with our $400 electricity credit to begin from today.
“This adds to the previous $600 credit we provided in 2020, resulting in a combined $1,000 benefit to Western Australian households.
“This credit will provide relief for more than one million households in Western Australia, at a time when war and other global pressures generate inflationary pressures across Australia.
“It also comes on top of other cost of living relief initiatives such as the Energy Assistance payment of $318, which means WA households could see combined power bill relief in 2022-23 of more than $710.
“Over the past four years, my Government has invested $2.1 billion to provide cost of living relief to Western Australians.
“This year, household fees and charges are four per cent lower than prior to the pandemic in 2019-20.”
As stated by Energy Minister Bill Johnston:
“The McGowan Government is committed to improving energy affordability and reliability for Western Australians.
“The Household Electricity Credit is able to be easily distributed among Western Australian households because our energy utilities are Government-owned.
“This is why it’s so important we ensure Western Power, Synergy and Horizon Power continue to be owned by the people of Western Australia.”
