Friday 18 November 2022 12:23 AM Energy bill shock as western Sydney couple slugged with $4811.79 bill by Simply ... trends now The brutal reality of a power bill in 2022: Family thought huge $5,000 bill was a terrible mistake - so why are they being forced to pay so much s despite having solar panels? Family-of-two left shocked after receiving hefty power bill for nearly $5,000 Couple Sonya and Phillip were informed by Simply Energy they owed $4,811.79 The figure is nearly eight times more than their last bill of $660 last quarter By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia Published: 00:16 GMT, 18 November 2022 | Updated: 00:17 GMT, 18 November 2022 Viewcomments A family of two has been left horrified after they were slugged with an eye-watering power bill for nearly $5,000. Western Sydney couple Sonya and Phillip were given the shock of their lives after they were informed they owed $4811.79 for the last quarter. The figure is nearly eight times more than their last bill, which was priced at $660. A family-of-two has been left horrified after they were slugged with an eye-watering power bill for nearly $5,000 Western Sydney couple Sonya and Phillip were given the shock of their lives after they were informed they owed $4811.79 for the last quarter 'I thought they put a four in front by mistake, I thought it was a joke, a hoax email, a scam or something,' Philip told A Current Affair. Phillip said he immediately contacted Simply Energy, believing the energy provider had made a terrible mistake. 'I think it's disgusting if this is the way they're going to treat Australian consumers,' he said. The couple has tried to keep costs down in the past by installing solar panels at their home and changing energy providers for a better deal. Sonya said she was taken aback after seeing the astronomical energy bill. 'We know that the electricity was going to go up, but not this much,' she said. Simply Energy defended the exorbitant amount saying the figure was a correction to previous bills. The energy provider was unable to access the metre for the past nine months which meant they had been 'greatly under-estimating the actual energy usage'. Electricity prices are expected to rise 56 per cent over the next two years with prices already on the rise (stock image) 'Prior to issuing the bill, we checked with the customers' network provider, who confirmed that the meter read was accurate,' a spokesperson said. 'We also sent letters to the customer on two separate occasions advising that we were having trouble reading the meter and that they could call us to arrange a time for access, and/or correct the bill with their own reading.' Daily Mail Australia contacted Simply Energy for comment. Electricity prices are expected to rise 56 per cent over the next two years with prices already on the rise. Annual wholesale prices had more than doubled to $87 in the March quarter - rising by 141 per cent in a year. Prime minister Anthony Albanese had promised economic relief for families in the lead-up to the May election saying he would slash power bills by $275 by 2025 Wholesale prices make up about a third of a power bill. One Big Switch calculated that would mean a 28 per cent annual increase of $273 for a family of four using 3,900 kilowatt hours of power a year. This year, average Australian household power bills have reached $1,402, according to calculations by financial comparison site Canstar. Prime minister Anthony Albanese had promised economic relief for families in the lead-up to the May election saying he would slash power bills by $275 by 2025. He appears to have walked back on his promise after the 'Powering Australia' vow was deleted from the ALP website in recent days. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility