Power price rises tipped to peak THE explosion in household electricity prices will begin to moderate over the next two years, a report by the chief energy adviser says, as costly green schemes are wound back and the need for upgrades to networks built in the 1960s peaks. The federal government seized on the report to declare it was good news for consumers struggling with rising electricity costs, but the Coalition sought to use it to criticise the carbon tax by pointing to the finding in the report that for 2012 the start of the carbon tax led to a "step increase" in the cost of electricity.