If we all band together and join the fightback campaign, we might get somewhere.

Across the country the response has been overwhelming. Hundreds of viewers have joined the Today Tonight power fightback campaign, desperate for respite from soaring power bills.

After being charged a huge bill of $667.90 for 4 weeks, Jules and Troy Maddern were convinced that their power bill didn’t add up. They asked their power company AGL to investigate and were told it was likely to be a faulty appliance.

As part of our fightback, we got 2 separate electricians to look into the problem. They checked everything, all the appliances, and found nothing was wrong. The system is obviously failing people, so Today Tonight wants to know what is being done about it?

Power prices have gone up so much that people have begun to question the accuracy of their bills. All that is clear is that the complaints continue to stack up.

“We used to pay $300 in gas and electricity but now they've got me for $1000,” says mum Alex Escobar. “That’s insane.”

Alex and her daughter Sophia want answers.

“We switch every switch off at the power point, we don't use the ducted heating during the night. We’ve been trying to cut back,” Sophia said.

Instead, their bill has more than doubled and they now owe over $1000, and company LUMO are threatening disconnection.

The Institute of Public Affairs’ Alan Moran has been tracking utility prices over the past 5 years, finding the price of electricity has gone up nearly four times the rate of inflation.

Mr Moran says electricity prices have gone up about 61 to 62 per cent in Sydney, but only 58% in Melbourne.

“The government doesn't put money into this. The feeding tariffs, green energy, and the premium pay that is smeared across all consumers.”

“This expenditure is really necessary to avoid blackouts from failing assets because they are getting too old and failing in service, or brownouts where there just isn't the capacity in the network to meet the demands of consumers,” Mr Moran said.

The Australian Energy Regulator's Andrew Reeves is the man who sets the price of power. He blames infrastructure upgrades and an increasing demand on the power grid for the soaring cost of energy.

“We look for a genuine investment in the network before we approve these proposals,” Mr Reeves said.

After showing Mr Reeves a sample of Today Tonight viewer’s power bills, he responded: “The big uses in households are big appliances, heating, air-conditioning. There is some capacity to cut usage.”

Marcus Sawer tried to do just that. He installed a smart meter, which is supposed to show exactly where energy is being wasted in the home. His bill went from $260 to $1400.

Queensland Energy Ombudsman Barry Adams says 80 per cent of the cases he investigates are related to electricity accounts, high bills, disputed accounts, and estimated reads.

“It's critical people don't allow themselves to be disconnected. They should contact the retailer first. If they are dissatisfied with that, they should contact their energy ombudsman in their state or territory in Australia and ask for assistance that will be investigated on their behalf,” Mr Adams advised.

The complaints that we have received have been sent on to the power companies, we continue to await their responses.

To find out about our Today Tonight Power Fight back, head to:

Power Fightback Campaign