SA power prices fall as govt eyes target

South Australian household power bills have fallen by almost $100 on average over the past year, as the state government races to fulfill a pre-election promise.

The Essential Services Commission of South Australia released its annual update of energy retail prices on Sunday, showing an average fall of $96 to $2086 per year in electricity bills over 2019-20.

It follows power prices dropping by $62 in 2018-19, taking total savings to $158 across the past two years – still shy of a government target.

Under a plan announced prior to the 2018 election, the Liberals promised to slash electricity bills by $302 per year.

Premier Steven Marshall is confident the rollout of a home battery scheme and proposed SA-NSW interconnector will continue to drive down energy prices ahead of the state’s next poll in March 2022.

“It beggars belief that Labor are opposed to the interconnector with NSW,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“We know that this is critical to making sure we can have grid stability (and) no more blackouts in South Australia.”

Mr. Marshall was spruiking Sunday’s official data as a win for households as they grapple with the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.

“We went to the last election promising more jobs, lower costs and better services,” he said.

“Lower costs are really important for families at the moment who are trying to balance their budgets and spend money on the things which are important to them.”

The premier said water prices, SA’s Emergency Services Levy and motor vehicle registration would also fall respectively by about $200, $160 and $100 this year on average.

The state’s average residential gas market offer, however, was up $28 to $1040 per annum in 2019-20, the ESCSA report found.

Mr. Marshall said gas prices were set internationally and couldn’t be addressed through state policy.