Ausgrid has announced it is reducing the network charge on customer’s electricity bills from 1 July 2019 to help households save money on their energy costs.
The network charge, the portion of Ausgrid customer’s bill which covers the maintenance of electricity poles and wires, will fall $71 or eleven per cent for the average residential customer.
Ausgrid CEO, Richard Gross, said the move will provide much needed bill relief.
“Our customers have told us that affordability is their number one concern and that electricity charges are simply too high,” Mr Gross said.
“We know family finances are strained so we have taken this step to deliver real savings for the household budget.
“I want our customers to know we have heard their calls for lower prices and are now delivering the savings they have asked for, and will continue to deliver safe and reliable services while bringing bills down.
“This isn’t the first time we have reduced our network charges, the $71 price cut is on top of the $142 savings we have delivered to customers since 2014. Ausgrid’s portion of bills has shrunk by 28 per cent in that time.”
In the past five years, Ausgrid has lowered network charges for average residential customers by $213.
The price drop coincides with the launch of Ausgrid’s opt-in SMS alert service to better inform its 1.7 million customers across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter.
“For the first time customers on our network can opt-in to receive SMS alerts on their mobile phone with details of outages in their local area,” Mr Gross said.
“This extra information will help give families the time and information they need to change their plans while our emergency crews work to restore power safely. It means even if the lights do go out they will know what’s happening.”
