PM blames states for rocketing bills

15 Jun 2012, 3:44 pm   -   Source: AAP

The prime minister has blamed state governments for rocketing power bills and failing to compensate families.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has blamed state governments for rocketing power prices in South Australia and NSW.

The 18 per cent rises, to apply from July 1, are being driven by the carbon tax and in NSW the cost of upgrading the grid - the "poles and wires" part of the network.

Ms Gillard acknowledged the role played by the carbon tax but accused state governments of failing to help families.

"The big mass of the costs, coming out of the new investment in poles and wires - something done by state government - doesn't come with real assistance for families and that's a matter for state governments to address," she told reporters in Sydney.

The prime minister also blamed the states for delaying the network upgrades.

"We've seen considerable rises over the last few years, largely because of underinvestment in the capital stock," she added.

"And that investment then having to be made quickly and then flowing through into power prices and bills."

Average household bills were rising by $3 a week in NSW and families would receive an average of $10 per week in government assistance, Ms Gillard said.

The South Australian Essential Services Commission will now launch an investigation into both the retail and wholesale cost of power.

Announcing the price rises on Friday, it said the carbon tax would add about $70 to the typical local household's annual bill.

A bigger component of the increase was the cost of the solar feed-in tariff scheme instigated by the state government.

"That scheme has led to a significant increase in the uptake of solar panels in South Australia and the cost of the scheme is effectively met by all electricity customers through higher network prices," the commission said.

Meanwhile, the Coalition said scrapping the carbon tax would be the first move it would make to bring power prices under control.

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