The price of energy is not valued in the same way as other costs of living. Rising energy prices have Australian consumers blaming utilities for everything, from unfairly increasing prices to not investing enough in renewable energy. It seems they can’t catch a break.
Connection Research’s recent report Interconnected Home 2011 reveals customers believe the number one priority for electricity retailers should be keeping prices affordable. But at the same time, nearly a quarter of customers believe the energy utilities’ investments are causing rising energy prices. They can’t do both.
Energy Networks Australia (ENA) CEO John Devereaux believes the key to repairing the somewhat battered image Australians have of their energy company is changing people’s attitudes. He points out that householders are happy pay for other comparable services, but think energy prices are too high.
“Given the focus on the size of electricity bills and the capacity for some households to cope with any increase, it is interesting to think about the services which most households now choose to access and pay for which were not available 15 years ago, including the Internet, mobile phones and pay television, which average in total around $150 per month, a sizeable portion of the average electricity bill.”
Consumers are comparatively happy to pay for internet and TV because they appreciate the value of these technologies more than electricity. Household access to electricity has been around for nearly a century now, so householders do not realise the difference it makes. Results from the Interconnected Home indicate only 21.7% believe they are getting value for money from their energy supplier. Australians need to change this attitude. It seems this change will happen slowly, with many continuing to blame the utilities for outages and price hikes, while ignoring the convenience that people take for granted.
