Why YOUR electricity bill is set to fall this year even if you continue working from home Australian Competition and Consumer Commission tipping cheaper power bills Residential power bills rose 7 per cent in 2020 with more working from home But ACCC tipping cheaper wholesale electricity prices meaning cheaper bills By Stephen Johnson, Economics Reporter For Daily Mail Australia Published: 06:41 BST, 24 June 2021 | Updated: 06:41 BST, 24 June 2021 Viewcomments Electricity bills are set to fall this year even as more Australians continue working from home. Last year, electricity bills rose by 7 per cent as residential customers used 10 per cent more power. This saw median quarterly bills increase to $332 from $310. 'COVID-19 changed electricity usage patterns and bills in 2020,' the ACCC said. 'Residential customers, who spent more time at home in response to the pandemic, increased their electricity use. 'With increased usage, residential electricity bills increased.' Electricity bills are set to fall this year even as more Australians continue working from home. Last year, electricity bills rose by 7 per cent as residential customers used 10 per cent more power. Pictured is Victoria Bowes working from home in Adelaide But the competition regulator's chairman Rod Sims is more optimistic for 2021, predicting cheaper wholesale prices will reduce home power bills. 'We expect 2021 to be a better year for households and small businesses as large reductions in the wholesale cost of electricity continue to flow through to people’s bills,' he said. Average wholesale spot prices, which electricity retailers pay for day-to-day uncontracted electricity, halved between mid-2019 and early 2021. A fire at a state government-owned generator in Queensland last month increased spot prices, with an outage at CS Energy's Callide power station temporarily interrupting that downward trend in prices. But the competition regulator's chairman Rod Sims is more optimistic for 2021, predicting cheaper wholesale prices will reduce home power bills. Pictured are electricity transmission lines at the Liddell Power Station at Muswellbrook in the New South Wales Hunter Valley Nonetheless, the ACCC expected wholesale electricity prices to remain lower compared to previous years. Consumers with solar panels last year paid 29 per cent or $94 less for electricity less than those without solar power, despite using more energy, thanks to generous feed-in tariffs rebates for feeding surplus energy back into the grid. Solar customers pay a median quarterly bill of $253, compared with $347 for those without solar panels on their roof. Late last year, the Australian Energy Market Commission forecasts in their Residential Electricity Price Trends for 2020 forecast average, annual household electricity bills would fall by $117 or 8.7 per cent by the second half of 2022. Consumers with solar panels last year paid 29 per cent or $94 less for electricity less than those without solar power, despite using more energy, thanks to generous feed-in tariffs rebates for feeding surplus energy back into the grid. Pictured is a house at The Ponds in north-west Sydney Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility