22 May 2026
The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, has slammed the Allan Labor Government after new reports revealed Victorian households will be forced to pay an extra $119 million through their electricity bills next financial year to fund VicGrid bureaucracy and staffing increases, while many regional communities still cannot access reliable power.
The increase represents a 30 per cent jump in VicGrid operational costs for 2026-27.
Ms Cleeland said the blowout exposed the hypocrisy of a Labor government demanding regional Victorians pay more while failing to deliver basic energy reliability.
“Families across regional Victoria are already under enormous pressure from rising living costs, and now Labor wants them to pay even more on their power bills to fund growing bureaucracy in Melbourne,” Ms Cleeland said.
“What makes this even more frustrating is that many communities in my electorate still cannot rely on the power staying on.”
Ms Cleeland pointed to the Australian Energy Regulator’s decision to reject upgrades to Euroa’s BN11 feeder line and electricity supply because the improvements would have cost Victorian households less than $15 per year.
“The AER refused to approve upgrades for Euroa because they claimed a $15 annual increase per household was too expensive,” she said.
“Yet now Victorians are being slugged with around $40 per household to fund VicGrid staffing and administration, without any improvement in reliability or service delivery.”
“Regional families are constantly told there is no money to strengthen local infrastructure, improve reliability, or keep the lights on during major outages, but somehow there is always money available for another layer of government bureaucracy.”
Ms Cleeland said the situation highlighted Labor’s ongoing failure to prioritise essential infrastructure in regional Victoria.
“In towns like Euroa, people continue to experience unreliable supply, blackouts and serious concerns around network stability, particularly during storms and peak demand periods,” she said.
“Regional Victorians should not be paying higher bills for worse outcomes.”
Ms Cleeland said the Allan Labor Government had lost control of energy planning and was forcing households to pay for its failures.
“Victorians are paying more and getting less,” she said.
“This government continues to pass the cost of its mismanagement directly onto households while regional communities are left behind.”
“Regional Victorians deserve affordable, reliable power, not higher bills funding bureaucracy in Melbourne.”