Power bills could rise by $1,000 a year under Coalition plan to boost gas until nuclear is ready, analysts say

Slowing the rollout of renewable energy and backfilling with gas as coal is replaced will mean consumers are hit with ‘quite a large cost’, analysts say. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Australians’ annual household power bills could increase by hundreds of dollars, and up to $1,000, under a Coalition plan to slow the rollout of large-scale renewable energy and use more gas-fired electricity before nuclear plants are ready, analysts say.

As Peter Dutton faced cross-party resistance to his announcement that he would go to the next election promising to eventually build seven nuclear plants, energy market analysts warned the Coalition’s proposal would probably lead to a significant rise in prices over the next decade, before a nuclear industry came online.