Fears Australian power bills will DOUBLE as workers continue to spend more time at home
- Australians could be forking out double the usual amount for their power bills
- Coronavirus lockdown and working from home caused bills to soar this year
- Average quarterly bill will jump from $406.75 to at least $800 during COVID-19
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Australians could be forking out double the usual amount for their power bills after months of working from home and staying indoors due to coronavirus.
Data compiled by Australia’s largest solar and battery installer Natural Solar’s live monitoring systems found personal energy consumption has skyrocketed since the end of February.
The ‘unprecedented usage’ over the months of March, April and May were a result of lockdown orders to stem the spread of COVID-19.
White collar workers were encouraged to work from home if possible, while students were told to stay home and social outings were switched for Zoom catch-ups.
Australians could be forking out double the usual amount for their power bills after months of working from home and staying indoors due to coronavirus. Pictured: Photo of an online energy bill
In March 2020, the average household chewed through 1,052kWh – up from just 513kWh in the same month of 2019.
In April it spiked even more – up to 1,094kWh of power and 36.4Wh of electricity each day.
Natural Solar CEO and Founder Chris Williams said people would increasingly turn to solar energy to combat the rising prices.
‘Despite electricity consumption doubling, we expect households with solar and battery to be highly insulated from increased consumption pricing,’ he said.
‘Households will simply use power produced by their solar panels, with excess power to be stored within their home battery for usage of an evening.’
His company anticipates the average quarterly bill will jump from $406.75 to at least $800 during the COVID-19 period.
White collar workers were encouraged to work from home if possible, while students were told to stay home and social outings were switched for Zoom catch-ups. Pictured: Two young girls from Brisbane learning from home when only the children of essential workers were told to attend classes
‘Australian homes that have had historically high power usage can expect their power bills to hit their hip pockets hard, coming in up to $1,800 per quarter,’ he said.
While lockdown in Australia has significantly eased since the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, office workers have still been told to work from home if it is possible to do so.
Staggered returns to school and flexible working arrangements mean it is likely electricity rates won’t return to a pre-COVID normal for some time, Mr Williams predicts.
In turn, he said Australians are increasingly turning to the benefits of smart homes.
‘COVID-19 has created change in how people are seeing home battery storage solutions; they’ve gone from a luxury to a necessity,’ he said.
‘The knowledge of increased electricity bills for the foreseeable future means savvy Aussies are acting now to start saving immediately.’
Tim Spencer, the General Manager of property developer Mulpha, said investors are looking at ‘any opportunity to bring down the cost of their power bill, particularly as usage is rising and the future is uncertain’.
While lockdown in Australia has significantly eased since the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, office workers have still been told to work from home if it is possible to do so