Households could save hundreds of dollars a year on their power bills under proposals announced by the Morrison government.

The government will move to set a default price for electricity, in line with a recommendation from the ACCC’s inquiry into retail power prices.

“We are putting the necessary focus on keeping the big energy companies under control to get prices down,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in Canberra on Tuesday.

Power retailers will be required to set their prices against a default market price, which could help households save hundreds of dollars, and businesses thousands.

Energy Consumers Australia CEO Rosemary Sinclair tells Ross Greenwood it’s time retailers “step up and step in and help sort this out”.

“Consumers are having to work too hard to get the benefits of a competitive market in energy, there’s no doubt about that.

“And the confusopoly of all these offers and discounts has not helped consumers at all.”

Ms Sinclair says for a “standing offer” has left disengaged consumers worse off for too long.

“What we’ve had in place for many, many years is a thing called the standing offer and it’s an offer to customers who, for whatever reason, don’t choose to engage the market.

“Over the last three or four years, that standing offer and just risen and risen to the point where it’s no longer providing the safety net it should be providing.”

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