STEVE AUSTIN: Now to the issue of cost of electricity. The Federal Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, is fresh out a meeting with power company chief executives in Sydney and he says he's given them an ultimatum: to bring down power prices on their own or be the subject of tighter laws around pricing. Angus Taylor is Australia's Energy Minister. Minister Taylor, thanks for coming on this afternoon.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

STEVE AUSTIN: What Queensland companies were in the room?

ANGUS TAYLOR: We had a number of companies that participate in Queensland in the room, including the Government companies and of course the retailers. So there were 20 companies from across the East Coast of Australia, and I made it very clear what our expectations are. We do expect the energy companies to give companies a fairer deal. We want the loyalty tax gone by 1 July, which is the excessive price you pay if you simply don't have time to negotiate a better, and many small business people in particular get caught in this - about 20 per cent. But we also want to see the confusion gone. When you go and ask for a contract or an offer from a company they'll offer you discounts and the numbers are very hard to make head or tail of and are not comparable with other discounts you're being offered by other companies. And so we want to see that it's apples versus apples when you go and ask for a price and a discount. And, in fact, the companies have stepped forward and said: we're prepared to move on that quickly, which is good news.

STEVE AUSTIN: Just clarify for me: what exactly have they agreed to today?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well look, they've agreed to move quickly on a comparison price. So this essentially means that when I ask Origin or whichever company it is for a price and they say: well, we'll give you a 20 per cent discount off the benchmark, and I ask another company for a price and they give a 25 per cent discount off the benchmark, it's the same benchmark. Right now, that's not the case. So it's very difficult for me to work out without a spreadsheet who's giving me a better price. Well this will simplify that process, strip out the challenge and the confusion that most customers face as they try to work out who's giving them a better deal, and make it much simpler to get a better price. But on top of that, we've said: 1 July, loyalty tax gone. That's the premium, the sting in the price for those who don't negotiate, and we want a down-payment on that on 1 January. We'll work through those reductions in the coming weeks.

STEVE AUSTIN: What does this mean for my power bill practically? When will I see a difference? Because here in Queensland, the State, in other words: the Queensland Government runs the power generators.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Right, and so it's different in South East Queensland from region Queensland of course, and in region Queensland it's a regulated price; in South East Queensland you've got much more competition. So anyone in South East Queensland will be able to get the benefits of this quickly, particularly if they haven't negotiated a price. So I was in a gym in Brisbane last week, a little small business, they've only been going a couple of years. They hadn't negotiated a price in the last 12 months so they were paying a very high price, and they will get a better deal from- under these arrangements from 1 January. And if the companies don't stump up, don't do the right thing, we'll come in with much more heavy-handed regulation from 1 July. I'm confident now that companies will do- get moving in the right direction from 1 January, but it's the beginning of the process; not the end. We want to see continual improvement in affordability and reliability for customers.

STEVE AUSTIN: I'm speaking with the Federal Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, just got out of a meeting with power company chief executives in Sydney. This is ABC Radio Brisbane, Steve Austin's my name. So you think, 1 January, I'll see a difference in the price of my power bill or the average Brisbane household power bill?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well it depends on your starting point. Everyone's different. Some people have one-year contracts; some people will have two or three-year contracts, but what we will have...

STEVE AUSTIN: So the next contract? Whenever some- okay.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Yeah. So the next contract is when we're looking to see improvement. Exactly right. And particularly the customers who are doing the worse, are getting hit the hardest, are those who haven't negotiated, Steve, and they're often vulnerable, they're a high prevalence of people who are disabled, who are older, lower income, who are getting stung with these - what are called: standing offers - which are non-negotiated prices. They're the ones who we really want to see the improvement on fastest, because they are getting stung the hardest, and that includes about 20 per cent of small businesses who simply don't have time because they're too busy running their businesses or taking their kids to sport or school or whatever. They are being stung very hard. That's where we want to see the biggest improvement.

STEVE AUSTIN: Thanks for your time.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thanks, Steve.

STEVE AUSTIN: Angus Taylor, Federal Energy Minister for Australia.