CANBERRA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The heads of Australia's major energy companies will meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull here next Wednesday in an effort to put a stop to rising electricity prices which are crippling low income Australian households.
In a letter sent to the heads of the nation's largest power companies on Friday, Turnbull said it was unimaginable that in a nation so rich in resources, Australians were struggling to pay their power bills.
"Australia is blessed with abundant energy so it is simply not good enough that some families and businesses cannot always afford to turn on their lights, heating and equipment," Turnbull's letter said.
Expanding on the prime minister's plan to "eyeball" the heads of the nation's biggest power companies, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the government hasn't ruled out stepping in to regulate the market if power companies can't come to an agreement.
"Certainly, we will look at regulatory options for us," Frydenberg said.
"The prime minister wants to eyeball the retailers and to tell them that we all need to do better to ensure particularly vulnerable households, who spend a higher proportion of their disposable income on power.
"Right now, it seems, many of them are stuck on standing offers which are not as attractive as market offers."
The energy minister said while the nation's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), was investigating power prices, it would take many months to compile a report. He said that action needed to be taken now to ensure lower-income families aren't cut off.
"We are talking to the ACCC constantly -- the prime minister, the treasurer and myself -- and it released a report just last week which indicated how bad it was for these households who are stuck on the bad deals," Frydenberg said.
"So we can't afford to wait until next June, when the ACCC's final report is in. We need to take action now and that's why we'll have this meeting."
"We believe that they can increase the transparency around the bills that people receive," he said.
"(People) don't know when they could be getting a better deal elsewhere. The Australian energy regulator has found that households who move retailers and contracts could save up to 1,000 Australian dollars (795 U.S. dollars) a year or more."
The retailers will meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday.
