Households in Wyndham are paying more for electricity than those in the city or south-eastern suburbs, new figures reveal.
A St Vincent de Paul project found Powercor customers in Melbourne’s outer-west paid an average of $1850 a year for electricity last year.
CitiPower residents living in the city and eastern suburbs paid $1590, while United Energy customers in the south-eastern suburbs paid $1770.
The report found power prices in Wyndham rose by about $80 last year.
A spokesman for the Essential Services Commission said prices were higher in the outer-west because distribution areas were larger and there was more population growth.
“The distributor in Werribee goes all the way to Mildura, Portland and Bendigo,” he said. “Those areas have much more land to cover, including less-settled areas, as opposed to inner-city distributors that often cover built-up areas and high-density populations.”
Wyndham City Salvation Army’s Sue Brookshaw said energy bills were an ongoing problem for people on lower incomes.
“This is all made worse by the fact people’s rents are going up as well, giving them less flexibility to put money towards these bills,” she said.
To help residents keep their electricity bills under control, Wyndham council is running an energy workshop this Saturday.
Cr Intaj Khan says residents can bring along their household bills and pick up tips on ways to save money.
“We’re all looking for ways to reduce our household bills,” he said. “[The workshop] will show you how to reduce your bills and increase the efficiency of your home.”
The workshop will be at the Wyndham Vale Community Learning Centre from 10-11.30am.
