THE ACT Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission has released its final decision on retail prices for small electricity customers for 2015-16.

“The Commission’s decision will decrease the average price of electricity for small customers on standard retail contracts with ActewAGL Retail by 4.58 per cent from 1 July 2015”, said Senior Commissioner Malcolm Gray.

“For our typical average residential customer consuming about 8,000 kWh per year, this translates to a decrease of $80 in their annual bill or about $1.53 less a week,” Malcolm said.

The main drivers for lower retail electricity prices are a substantial fall in network costs, which are determined by the Australian Energy Regulator, and a reduction in energy purchase costs flowing from lower prices in the wholesale electricity market.

The Commission has released a report setting out its final decision which is available on the Commission’s website at icrc.act.gov.au.

In response ActewAGL says this price reduction is a result of a decrease in network charges and lower wholesale energy purchase costs.

“While we’re seeing a decrease in electricity prices, we’re still here to assist our customers with further ways to save, particularly coming into the winter months,” General Manager Retail Ayesha Razzaq said.

“We have a range of energy saving programs and initiatives designed to help customers manage their energy costs, like our free Energy Saving House Calls program and free LED bulb replacement program.”

[Photo: “???????? ??????” by Outcaster – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.]