A recent federal Treasury analysis found electricity futures contracts – those bought by retailers and large customers to lock in power supplies at a later date – were 38 per cent lower per megawatt hour in NSW, 29 per cent less in Victoria and 44 per cent less in Queensland on December 21 than before the price caps were announced.

Loading

However, AGL on Thursday stressed that the regulator typically assessed forward prices over a two-year timeframe when it determines default offers.

“We do still expect significant increases because of the 24-month rolling average that still needs to flow through,” AGL customer chief executive Jo Egan said.

AGL’s half-year financial results on Thursday – the first to be delivered under its new CEO – fell short of analysts’ expectations.

It capped off a tumultuous period for the ASX-listed energy giant in which billionaire climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes became its biggest shareholder, overhauled its board of directors and forced it to commit to more aggressively replace its carbon-intensive coal-fired power stations with renewable energy.

A successful campaign by Cannon-Brookes last May blew up AGL’s long-held ambitions to demerge its coal-fired power stations into a separate entity, forcing the resignations of its chairman and chief executive, and eventually heaping enough pressure on the board to dramatically speed up its decarbonisation plans.

In September, the board resolved to close AGL’s last-remaining coal plant, Loy Yang A in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, up to 10 years earlier in 2035, and invest $20 billion on renewable energy and back-up “firming” assets by 2036.

Greg Liddell, responsible investment director at AGL shareholder Betashares, said Thursday’s half-year result was yet another reminder that business as usual was “not a credible pathway forward” for the company.

“While it’s early days for the refreshed board and new CEO, they should double down on their work to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities associated with the global transition to a net-zero economy,” he said.

AGL is Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, accounting for about 8 per cent of the national carbon footprint.

On Thursday, the board halved its interim dividend from 16¢ to 8¢ a share, which was well below market expectations. The company also slashed its target range for full-year earnings.

Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments at VanEck Australia, which holds shares in AGL, said the half-year performance was disappointing, but he believed the market’s reaction was driven more by the board’s decision to cut the dividend.

“A lot of the issues they faced were issues we already knew about – the power plant issues, the changing of the board ... there was a lot going on,” Hannah said. “Now that they’ve done their strategic review, have consolidated the board, and have got a new CEO, the company is better-placed going forward.”