Rising bills continue to plague consumers in New South Wales and Queensland as two government-owned electricity networks charge almost twice as much as privately owned operators in Victoria.

According to The Australian, the government-owned networks are distributing profits to state governments at the expense of the electricity consumers.

The said networks also have more frequent and lengthened outages than the private ones which maneuver in Victoria and South Australia.

Rio Tinto and Wesfarmers, being members of the Energy Users Association of Australia recommend the privatization of the NSW and Queensland distributors, as well as regulatory reforms to empower consumers.

Roman Domanski, executive director of EUAA, said it was important that the energy networks to be more efficient to cut costs because power was becoming less affordable. Moreover, climate change policies were set to further inflate electricity charges.

In lieu with this, TRUenergy, one of the nation's biggest electricity suppliers, cautioned that household power bills would double over six years with the introduction of a carbon price.

TRUenergy Chief Executive Richard McIndoe said, on average households should expect a further $300 hike to their power bills if a carbon price were introduced at about $20 a tonne.

McIndoe furthered this would come on top of a 40 per cent increase over the past three years and an added 30 per cent increase over the next three years. This is in relation to rising gas prices and the costs of the mandatory targets for renewable energy generation.

"You are looking at a doubling of electricity pricing over a six-year period, which is pretty significant for households," McIndoe said.
The EUAA report impends to create a political headache for NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell while former Federal Court judge Brian Tamberlin today starts questioning Labor's botched electricity privatization.

O'Farrell has campaigned against Julia Gillard's proposed carbon tax on the grounds it will induce power price increases, but insists the energy networks should remain in public ownership.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday said she would not support the carbon tax until she sees its details.

The Prime Minister has blamed the states for the ever-increasing electricity bills now that there is a costly spending catch-up after under-investment in the networks.

In the 1990s, the Kennett government privatized its entire electricity industry and South Australia followed suit. However, NSW and Queensland have both retained their energy networks in public hands.