All West Australian households and 90,000 small business, will receive discounted electricity as part of the WA government’s cost-of-living relief package to be rolled out from next month.
Households will receive $700 worth of the energy “credits” and small businesses will receive $725 throughout the year, to be delivered in two instalments during the hottest and coldest months.
The first instalment of credits — $350 for households and $325 for small businesses — will appear on power bills from next month’s July-August billing cycle.
The second instalment, of the same respective amounts, will appear on power bills in the December-January billing cycle.
Only small businesses with annual electricity consumption lower than 50MWh will be eligible for the relief package, the WA Government said in a statement on Sunday.
The electricity credit is jointly funded by the state and commonwealth governments and is the fourth electricity credit delivered by the WA Labor Government in the state.
“The primary focus of our economic plan and our budget is to ease pressure on Western Australians and put downward pressure on inflation, and our new power bill relief does both,” Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
“Just like every taxpayer is getting a tax cut, every household will now get energy bill relief under the Albanese Government from next month, with plenty of support for small businesses as well.”
For households and small businesses that do not have an account with the state’s two electricity retailers — Synergy, which services Perth metro and the southwest, and Horizon Power, which services other parts of the state — “applications for assistance are expected to open in July,” the WA Government said in a statement.
Those applications for assistance with be available through RevenueWA and the Small Business Development Corporation.
Even more support is available for some households, including pensioners, veterans and those with Health Care Cards, through the Energy Assistance Payment.
“Our responsible financial management means we can invest in what matters to Western Australia, without leaving behind a mountain of debt,” WA Premier Roger Cook said.