A Hunter family is searching for answers after their quarterly power bill went from $282 to $675 for no apparent reason.
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The Stibbard family from Thornton invested $5000 in a rooftop solar system 18 months ago in an effort to reduce their energy bills.
The quarterly bill following the system's installation was $282 and the bills that followed were for a similar amount.
That was until the bill for this January's quarter came in at $675.89.
A comparison with the bill from the same period 12 months earlier revealed the family's energy consumption had gone from 1348 kilowatt hours to 2219 kilowatt hours - a figure Tegan Stibbard said was not possible.
"This time last year I was at home all day with a newborn baby and we were using more electricity. My husband and I are both working full-time now and we are probably at home for about four hours before we go to bed. It just doesn't make sense," she said.
"We also have a solar whirlybird in the sun-room so we are not using electricity to cool that down."
The bills also show the cost of electricity had also risen from 0.29 cents per kilowatt hour to 0.37 cents per kilowatt hour over the 12 month period.
The rebate they received for putting energy back into the grid from their solar system had also dropped.
Ms Stibbard said the energy provider had been of little help when she queried the bill.
"They just said the increase was because we had used more electricity and we were on the best plan for our needs," she said.
The Stibbards plan to take their complaint to the Energy and Water Ombudsman.
Australian Community Media (ACM) reported on Wednesday, that complaints from Hunter residents to the ombudsman about high bills were up 39 per cent for the first quarter of the year.
Ombudsman Janine Young said if a customer received an unexpected high bill, they should contact their provider, outline their concerns and ask for an explanation.
"If the provider can't explain the bill, they can request a full investigation. If they're not satisfied with the response, they can contact EWON at any time for independent advice or to investigate the accuracy of the bill," she said.
Like thousands of other Hunter residents, Ms Stibbard said her family was feeling the pressure of steadily increasing bills.
In other news:
"I just got a gas bill today for $166 and previous gas bills have been nowhere near that. The bill also says I used 20 per cent less gas than the previous quarter. What's going on?" she said.
Meanwhile, east coast gas supplies may continue to dwindle - extending bill shock - as developers and investors are spooked about the risk of more price controls.
The "gold-plated, multinational megaphone" of gas producers won't make the federal government ease off on accelerating renewable energy investments or industry code.
Federal Industry Minister Ed Husic said there is clearly a role for gas in the energy transition, with many industries still relying on the fossil fuel.
New supply from Narrabri in NSW and the Beetaloo gas field southeast of Darwin will meet domestic needs while renewable energy generation gets built, he said on Wednesday.
Mr Husic said the impact of high gas prices is felt by manufacturers who represent half the domestic demand for gas industrial users, tied to a lot of jobs in outer suburbs and regional Australia.
