SA government's promotion of Origin's concession scheme under attack

Pauline Fowles is joining other pensioners criticising the SA government's promotion of Origin Energy's concessions scheme ahead of the March election. The government sent letters to concessions holders early this year promoting Origin's 20 per cent discount on electricity usage, but in the new financial year Origin introduced an increase of 53 cents a day on the daily supply charge. What's next? The government says it does not set the energy prices for companies. The South Australian government is facing increasing criticism over an Origin Energy electricity offer that was promoted to pensioners in the lead-up to the state election, after the company introduced a new pricing structure for the 2026/2027 financial year. Pensioner Pauline Fowles said she received a letter from the state government before the March election, promoting potential energy savings with Origin Energy. "I'm always on the lookout to save a bit of money if I can, so I thought, I'll look into it," Ms Fowles said. The letter said concession customers who choose to sign up with Origin could access a "20 per cent guaranteed discount off Origin's standard electricity usage and supply charges". The pensioner took up the offer, switching from her long-term provider AGL, but last month she received a new Origin pricing structure that showed the daily supply charge will increase by 53 cents. "It's going up 50c more a day for the supply charge so I suppose it's going to be $45 more for a 90-day quarter," Ms Fowles said. "I thought that's not fair because people who are struggling and don't keep themselves warm to save a few cents a day cannot escape the 50 cents or more surcharge on a daily rate. "I was very annoyed … I'm cheesed off." She said the government's promotion of the Origin scheme was real at the time. "But it only lasted for three months," she said. About 83,000 pensioners are on the scheme, which was set up in 2017. 'Level of outrage' SA Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn said the government sent a letter to 200,000 concession holders promoting the scheme, ahead of Labor's successful election. "It's one thing to encourage consumers to shop around, but in this instance you've got the government who is encouraging a certain provider only to find out that they're actually going to be slugged … by taking the government's advice," Ms Hurn said. "I would've expected there to be a level of outrage [from the government]." Acting Premier Kyam Maher said the government did not set the prices when it came to energy bills. "What this Origin offer does is allow people to access 20 per cent less than they would otherwise be paying on a normal contract with Origin, but if there's a cheaper offer from someone else, people should look at that," Mr Maher said. "There are some contracts that have seen prices go up, there are some contracts that have seen prices go down." An Origin spokesperson told the ABC customers were still receiving a 20 per cent discount on electricity prices. "We believe the concessions offer will continue to provide a significant benefit to many households in South Australia and we encourage customers to get in touch with us if they have questions," they said. Ms Fowles said she voted Labor at the last election. "But I must say I am a swinging voter and I may swing at the next election.