Jessica Gaddes said she was shocked to receive a $1,600 electricity bill this quarter as a single person. (Source: Supplied\/TikTok) <\/p>\n
A Sydney woman has shared her shock<\/a> after receiving a huge $1,600 winter electricity bill<\/a>. Millions of Australians across the country are being hit with big electricity bills<\/a>, as retailers hike their prices.<\/p>\n Jessica Gaddes said she \u201ccould not believe it\u201d and “almost fell over” when she received a nearly $1,600 quarterly electricity bill<\/a> in her email. The 37-year-old lives alone with her two dogs in a two-bedroom home in the city’s south west.<\/p>\n \u201cI always expect a big one around winter<\/a>, but each year it is just going up and up. It\u2019s not going up by small amounts, it\u2019s going up by a massive amount,\u201d Gaddes told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n Gaddes’ last winter electricity bill was $1,070, while her previous quarterly bills were about $550 and $350 earlier in the year.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve actually decreased my usage. After the last one, I pulled everything out and actually unplug everything now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even have a dryer at the moment, that\u2019s been gone for a couple of months now.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n Gaddes\u2019 electricity provider ENGIE advised that customer electricity rates had increased from July 1 this year. Gaddes rates went up by around 12 per cent.<\/p>\n It\u2019s understood higher winter energy usage, the electricity rates increase and a slightly longer billing period are the reasons behind the higher-than-expected bill.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you receive a higher-than-expected energy bill that you think you might have some trouble paying, give us a ring,\u201d an ENGIE spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here to help and can do so in lots of different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Electricity prices<\/a> rose 1.31 per cent in the 12 months to July, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data found.<\/p>\n This was largely due to government energy rebates ending<\/a>, as well as price increases following annual changes in July.<\/p>\n The three major retailers, Origin<\/a>, AGL<\/a> and EnergyAustralia, have increased prices for existing customers by up to 13.5 per cent following approved price hikes from the regulators.<\/p>\n Other smaller retailers have imposed bigger hikes.<\/p>\n Since receiving the bill, Gaddes has set up a payment plan with her provider, so she will pay off the bill in $125 a week instalments<\/a>.<\/p>\n She has also applied for the state government\u2019s Energy Accounts Payment Assistance program<\/a>, and plans to compare electricity plans to see if there is a cheaper option available.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n Gaddes has called for more transparency around electricity prices and noted it could be difficult to understand and decipher bills, with the terminology often feeling like \u201canother language\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like the jargon they use, they\u2019re talking to people as if we know what they\u2019re talking about. We have no idea,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m young. I can only imagine if it was someone in their 60s, 70s ringing about a bill, they would not have a clue what they are talking about.”<\/p>\n Under new rules coming into effect on December 30, 2026<\/a>, providers will have to include a \u2018better offer\u2019 message alerting customers if a cheaper plan is available on electricity bill communications, not just the bill itself.<\/p>\n Canstar Blue data found households in Sydney switching from the average-priced electricity plan to the lowest plan could save more than $400 in a year.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s survey of 2,833 Aussies found just one in three energy customers fully understood their electricity bills.<\/p>\n A separate survey of 4,951 customers found 22 per cent of customers who had been with a provider for more than two years had not switched plans because they found the process of comparing the switching plans too complicated.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n