In what could be an act of corporate suicide, an Australian energy company is urging customers to jump in before their bills double. ReAmped Energy CEO Luke Blincoe said his unusual warning to 70,000 customers is just the harsh reality of a significant rise in energy prices. Last week, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) raised price limits to the maximum that suppliers can charge households and businesses. The Australian energy retailer has warned that wholesale energy prices will remain high in NSW and Queensland for at least the next two years. (Bloomberg)
“In the current climate we can’t offer them the best prices,” Blincoe told Today, talking about the impact of the AER decision on its business model.
“We thought we would be honest and tell our customers to get the best deal they should leave us.
“It’s discouraging for us, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Blincoe denied that he was essentially killing his business, instead of saying it would be “wrong” not to be honest about the likely duplication of bills.
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“We are preserving our business while maintaining the trust of our customers in an unprecedented amount of time,” he said.
“If we can’t offer the best deal, not telling our customers would be a bad thing.”
Blincoe said the regulator’s decision would likely push customers back into the arms of Australia’s big three, Origin Energy, AGL and EnergyAustralia, “which have historically not served Australians particularly well”.
“It will be the boys who will benefit from this,” he said.
Millions of Australian households will be affected by rising electricity costs after the energy industry’s controlling body raised key prices by hundreds of dollars a year. (Today)
The EAR said it was necessary to raise price limits as wholesale costs for retailers had risen substantially due to unplanned outages, fuel costs and “peak” demand.
AER President Clare Savage said the decision to raise prices was “difficult” given that millions of Australians are already struggling with a high cost of living.
Blincoe said there would be higher prices at least for the rest of the year, but he was “very confident” that ReAmped will return “and stronger than ever.”
He blamed the invasion of Ukraine by Russia as an important factor that created great uncertainty in the world energy market.
Are you struggling to pay your electricity bills? Contact me with confidence: msaunokonoko@nine.com.au