Redfern Convenience Store owner Hazem Sedda shocked by Energy Australia power bill after it more than doubles in a year

Redfern Convenience Store owner Hazem Sedda shocked by Energy Australia power bill after it more than doubles in a year

• Famed convenience store owner shocked by power bill 
• Charged over $10,000 for electricity for the month of July 

By Freddy Pawle For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:04 BST, 7 August 2023 | Updated: 05:17 BST, 7 August 2023

A convenience store owner has been left shocked after he was slugged with a massive power bill that was double what he received at the same time last year.

Hazem Sedda, who owns Redfern Convenience Store, in Sydney’s inner south, was  stunned after receiving a bill for $10,369 in August.

Mr Sedda shared a photo of the bill to Instagram on Friday labelling it crazy and compared it to a much cheaper bill of $4,306 he had received in August 2022.  

His power provider, Energy Australia, was one of the many to have increased their prices having with increases in inflation and wholesale costs of electricity placed as the main reasons behind the increases. 

The famed owner of the Redfern Convenience Store, Hazem Sedda (centre), has been left shocked after being charged over $10,000 in electricity costs across July

Writing to his fans on Instagram, Mr Sedda wrote that electricity costs for his store had more than doubled despite making efforts to reduce their output. 

‘During the same period last year, in August 2022, the electricity bill for the convenience store amounted to a reasonable $4306.39,’ he wrote.

‘However, the bill for this year’s August has dealt a staggering blow, reaching an astounding $10369.79. 

‘This drastic spike in costs is particularly concerning, especially considering the current winter season and the store’s deliberate avoidance of power-intensive appliances such as air-conditioning units.’

The bill has also come at a time when Mr Sedda has in the process of opening a second store in Newtown, on the corner of King St and Missenden Road.

His store has become famed for selling lollies and snacks that are otherwise hard to acquire from overseas or limited edition flavours.

Customers also flock to the store to meet Mr Sedda, who has charmed his way into a fanbase thanks to his jubilant personality and boundless positivity. 

Taking his shock to Instagram, Mr Sedda compared his $10,369 bill from July to a bill from the same period the year prior that only set him back a ‘reasonable’ $4,306

Mr Sedda claims he made a conscious effort across July to use as little electricity as possible at the convenience store (pictured) 

Energy Australia increased their rates on both their BasicHome and BasicBusineess pland across NSW in July and August.

The energy provider stated the increase was ‘equivalent to the Default Market Offer (DMO) which is set and reviewed by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) annually and changes each year in July’.

The AER said the DMO increases were predominantly due to increases in wholesale electricity costs.

‘We know households and small businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures on many fronts, and that’s why it’s important the DMO provides a safety net for those who might not have shopped around for a better power deal,’ AER chair Clare Savage said in March.

‘In setting the DMO price this year we have sought to protect consumers from unjustifiably high prices and at the same time allow retailers to offer consumers better deals than their standard plans.’

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