The Cook Government announced on Sunday that the first instalment of a record $700 household electricity credit will roll out next month.
Jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments, the latest WA energy relief consists of the Cook Administration’s $400 electricity credit for all households and eligible businesses and the additional $300 for families and $325 for businesses coming from the 2024-25 Federal Budget.
The first instalment of the electricity credit will appear on power bills next month, offering relief during the winter power peaks.
How much rebate will you get?
A $350 credit will be tacked onto every WA family’s account in the July-August billing cycle.
Small businesses with annual electricity consumption below 50 megawatt hours will receive $362.50.
The second instalment will be applied in the December-January billing cycle.
Premier Roger Cook committed $492 million in the 2024-25 State Budget to deliver the record electricity credit.
The Energy Assistance Payments will bring an additional $734 energy bill assistance to households requiring additional support, including pensioners, veterans, and Health Care Card holders.
Eligible families can also receive the Dependent Child Rebate, bringing total support to more than $1,300.
This latest electricity credit brings the power bill relief WA households have received over the last four years to at least $2,100, and small businesses to more than $4,300.
How to get the energy credit
Households and small businesses that do not have an account with Synergy or Horizon Power can start applying in July through Revenue WA and the Small Business Development Corporation.
Those who already have a business account with the aforementioned power companies will automatically receive the credits once released.
The $492 million energy relief builds on a suite of cost-of-living measures in the WA 2024-25 State Budget, including the $103.5 million Student Assistance Payment and the $20.3 million package to increase the value of the Regional Pensioner Travel Card from $100 to $675 per year.
Energy relief: Inflationary or contractionary?
The RBA Board admitted in its recent post-meeting statement that concessions and free money handed down in recent budgets “may have an impact on demand”.
Energy relief measures are viewed by the central bank to “temporarily reduce headline inflation”, but will not factor into longer-term underlying inflation views.
Electricity prices in Australia rose 5.2% when indexed to March 2024 inflation, according to the ABS.
Excluding rebates, the prices would have risen 13.9%.
“When we do our forecasts in August, we’ll be able to take that (budget outcomes) holistically into account,” RBA Governor Michele Bullock said.
“I think that’s a more appropriate way to think about it – holistically rather than taking one element [i.e. temporarily relief measures] and saying it is going to be expansionary or contractionary.”
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