Is electricity affordable in South Australia?

Abstract

The development of retail competition in South Australia has exposed small consumers to substantial price rises in recent years. Such price increases for a service that is regarded as essential in the 21 century raise equity issues. Little research has yet been completed relating to the impact on the community of such prices rises, although a recent review of the socioeconomic indicators that monitor the impact of increasing electricity prices concluded that there had been a decrease in electricity affordability. It is, unfortunately, difficult to make an assessment of the impact of a decrease in electricity affordability because current indicators for measuring the decrease and its effects ..