Last week's Federal Budget prediction of a more than 50% power rise over the next two years rang alarm bells across a nation already wearied by continuously increasing bills.

And worse, that 50% figure only applies to electricity - gas bills will also increase by an expected 40% between now and 2024.

And these depressing uprises are on top of already seeing less groceries for more money in our trolleys along with rising interest rates.

But should we be panicking - or not?

Let's take look at the budget 2022-23: Why will my power bill be higher?

Budget thoughts about overall energy prices

"Wages are growing faster now than they were before the election, but that welcome news is tempered by rising electricity prices and grocery bills eating into pay packets.

The disruption from Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the largest shock to global energy supply since the 1970s.

Along with the lingering effects of the pandemic and strained supply chains, this has seen global energy costs and inflation soar.

Supply constraints and high global energy prices are persisting and are being exacerbated by the recent floods.

Budget's predictions about upcoming energy prices

• Electricity and gas prices are expected to rise sharply over the next two years
• This is due to the cost of energy market disruptions passing through to households
• Energy market challenges are being exacerbated by ageing electricity generation assets 
• There is also inadequate policy certainty to support investment in new energy infrastructure
• The (rising) pattern of inflation largely stems from higher electricity and gas prices
• Inflation is now forecast to be more persistent, remaining elevated at 3.5% in the June quarter of 2024 before moderating to 2.5% in 2024–2025

Federal Treasury's estimated power price increases

• Electricity and gas prices will contribute to inflation by 0.75% and 1% respectively in 2022–2023 and 2023-2024
• National retail electricity prices are expected to increase by 20% in late 2022 and rise by a further 30% in 2023-2024
• The 2022 rises will contribute to a higher-than-forecast CPI in 2022–2023 with the later increases resulting from an expected wholesale contract price
• Retail gas prices are expected to increase by up to 20% in both 2022–2023 and 2023–2024
• This is after domestic wholesale gas prices remain more than double that of their average price (prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine)
  
• As well, while major gas retailers are somewhat insulated from spot prices, sharply higher, spot and forward prices suggest a sizeable increase in wholesale costs

Should I be concerned about power bill increases?

The ongoing energy crisis - and now this recent news - is unlikely to bring a smile to your face.

Personally, my electricity and gas bills have remained quite untouched in the past six months or so.

But I know my folks who are on a pension in regional NSW are definitely concerned - while still being thankful they don't have to grapple with the larger-than-life bills of large families.

As we discussed recently, such families are already feeling a nasty pinch with average power prices rising to around $4,000 annually - and that's just for electricity.

As well, our extreme seasons make heaters and air conditioners a must-have - along with white goods such as clothes dryers.

So, it basically doesn't look good for power bills in the next two years.

Certainly, the Federal Government's backtrack on its earlier election promise to cut energy bills by $275 is disappointing, to say the least - especially after we got our hopes up for a few moments when Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the National Press Club after the Budget announcement that he still planned to do so, only to pull out of his promise later.

To finish, here are some final Budget points to keep in mind:

• Yes, the power price rise will see inflation elevated at 5.75% over 2022-2023 and 3.5% over 2023-2024
• However, inflation is then forecast to gradually ease and return to within the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s inflation target by 2024–2025
  
• Federal and state governments are also strongly accelerating the uptake of renewable energy and modernising our current outdated electricity grids, which is expected to put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices - over time

What you can do now is review your energy bill to see if you can get a better deal. Head on over to Moving Loop to compare, switch and save. It only takes a few minutes and could save you hundreds...and who doesn't want some extra cash in their pocket right now?