The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to helping vulnerable Tasmanians with their power bills.
Obviously the best way to do that is to keep downward pressure on prices, and I’m pleased to say that since the Government was elected, power prices have reduced by around five per cent.
Aurora, in partnership with the Government, has implemented the energy affordability program Your Energy Support (YES) program to assist vulnerable households.
Through initiatives like the YES program, disconnections have dropped by a third, to 1,114, down from 1,680 in the previous year. The value of bad debt write offs has also reduced by a third.
The number of complaints has also reduce dramatically.
In 2014-15, the YES program has helped more than 1,600 Tasmanians to make ends meet and keep the power on. But there is more that we can do.
That’s why over the next two years, Aurora and the Government will reinvest $2 million to extend the YES program to even more Tasmanians.
The YES program is in addition to the Government’s concession arrangements, which are among the most generous in the country.
For 2015-16, funding of $37.2 million is included in the budget for electricity concessions.