Dean Winter says a Labor government would limit power price hikes to 2.5% a year for the next three years.
Winter says the election promise to cap electricity price rises, if already implemented, would have saved the average household around $400 over the past three years.
“We’ll be capping power prices from the 1st of July going forward. We’ll make sure that power prices can’t go up by more than 2.5%,” Winter said.
“Tasmanians expect to pay Tasmanian prices for Tasmanian power.”
“They don’t want to see their power bill go up massively because of coal and gas prices on the mainland.”
Official figures show Tasmanian electricity prices rose by 0.5% in 2024–25 and by 2.13% in 2025–26.
The Tasmanian Economic Regulator’s latest report shows that the 2.13% rise was lower than the 4.08% increase Aurora Energy had originally asked for.
Winter said the proposed 2.5% cap would be a maximum, not a target.
“If the regulator comes back and says that it’s less than 2.5%, that’ll be the number. But 2.5% is the maximum allowed under our policy,” he said.
“I don’t want to see the same thing happen to families as happened three years ago when power prices went up by 12%.”
Liberal MLC and Energy Minister Nick Duigan said the “recycled announcement” from Labor “means nothing”.
“Hydro profits are already used to cut Tasmanians’ power bills further through our renewable energy dividend, which means that when Hydro makes money, Tasmanians save money,” he said.
“Even before the renewable energy dividend is applied, Tasmanian prices have gone up 0.5% and 2.1% respectively over the past two years, below Labor’s con cap.”
Planner Peace founder Jess Yasuda, who spoke alongside Winter on Monday, said rising costs across the board had made things tough for her small business.
She has had to cut back her two staff members’ hours and take a pay cut herself to keep things going.
“Over the last few years all my bills have been increasing. Not just power but groceries, rates, everything,” she said.
“It just seems like every week there’s another bill that needs to be paid that I have to try and find the money for.”
“I’m hoping that the economy improves and things get easier.”
