Big discounts being offered by electricity and gas retailers are not stopping power bills from rising, and are sometimes making customers pay more for the utilities, a new report from Victoria's energy market watchdog has found.
The Essential Services Commission (ESC) released its annual Victorian Energy Market Report today, which examined data from the 2016-17 financial year.
It found that average electricity prices rose by 5 per cent and price of gas rose by 16 per cent in that period.
That means on standard contacts, average customers would pay an extra $62 a year for electricity, and $197 extra for gas.
In handing down the report, ESC chairman Dr Ron Ben-David labelled many discount deals offered by retailers as "meaningless".
He said many people do not meet conditions which make them eligible for the discounts, and they end up paying more.
"There is almost no relationship between the discounts being advertised by energy retailers and the amount customers end up paying," he said.
"Customers need to be careful, very careful. The highest discounts don't necessarily mean the cheapest energy bills, not by a long shot.
"I need to be absolutely clear about this, higher discounts do not necessarily mean cheaper bills," he said.
The report also found more Victorians were entering hardship programs with retailers, as they could not afford to pay their bills.
It found the average person entering a program was already a year behind on their debt.
"Too often, retailers are waiting too long before offering customers access to their hardship programs — potentially dooming many of these customers to failure from the outset," Mr Ben-Davis said.
New rules which would force retailers to provide better assistance to customers on hardship programs come into effect in January 2019.
The ESC said it was still waiting for the Victorian Government to respond to the Independent Review of Electricity and Gas Markets in Victoria, known as the Thwaites review, which recommended greater regulation around power prices.
It said the Government's response was expected by the end of the year.
