Recent shockingly high power bills received by Douglas Shie residents has raised a perennial question: are there any prospects of energy competition in the region in the near future?

In a short answer, no.

The state-owned Ergon Energy (whose parent company is Energy Queensland) is the sole supplier in our region, and is likely to remain the only choice for many years to come.

The main reason for the power supply monopoly is state regulation, whereby a government-appointed body sets the tariff in regional areas such as the far north.

This means other energy companies, which while on one hand are encouraged to offer competition especially in the more densely-populated south-east corner of Queensland, can’t realistically compete in smaller regional areas where there is one set price for power.

But while cost of electricity remains regulated by the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA), the plus side of that is that the cost of electricity in the regions —including in Douglas – is also subsidised by the state so that residents here do not pay any more than those in south east Queensland.

On top of the set rate, Ergon Energy’s monopoly is further cemented by the fact that it gets additional financial support from the state government each year to help cover its operating costs. 

That support is granted to Ergon as a subsidy, which pays the difference between the set price and the actual cost of supplying customers.