The government claims a new cap on energy prices will save some Australians hundreds of dollars a year, starting from today.

The Australian Energy Regulator has introduced a maximum price for customers on ‘standing offers’ across New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia.

A ‘standing offer’ is the default price all households go onto unless they negotiate a better deal.

From today that default price will be capped and could save about 800,000 customers across NSW and Queenslanders up to $662 a year for homes and $2851 for businesses.

However, some listeners are sceptical about the government’s claims, saying they can’t afford to turn their heaters on through winter.

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Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the best way to save on your power bills is to ring around and negotiate a better deal.

But he tells John Stanley this will help everybody who doesn’t have time to do that.

“From today, effectively there is a price cap in place.

“That applies to standing offers, that’s the price you get if you haven’t gone in and negotiated a better price.

“They’re quite substantial reductions… that applies to people who haven’t had the time to ring around.”

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