Average household power bills could rise by as much as $64 annually under the federal government's renewable energy target scheme, independent modelling shows.
But the Climate Change Authority says the price hikes will be "relatively modest" when compared to the environmental benefits.
The authority on Wednesday released its final report on the RET scheme, recommending no change in the 2020 target for achieving 41,000 gigawatt hours of power every year from renewable energy.
Modelling carried out for the authority showed the scheme would push up annual power prices by between $12 and $64 per household between now and 2020, a rate of around one to four per cent.
But by that time renewable energy will account for 26 per cent of Australia's power market, with RET having helped drive down carbon emissions.
Authority board member Clive Hamilton said Australians recognised moving to a clean-energy future was a necessity that would not come without cost, with the modelling showing the cost to consumers was not going to be as high as some critics had suggested.
"For me, the most remarkable result to come out of the work we've been doing is just how low that costs," Professor Hamilton told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
Authority chair Bernie Fraser, a former Reserve Bank governor, said it was likely the price rises would be closer to the $12 mark than the maximum forecast $64.
He said governments would always face pressure when power prices go up but their job was to convince people it was for a good reason.
"That's hard when others are running around saying it's all due to the carbon price or to renewable energy targets," Mr Fraser said. "But they're rather small components."
However, Energy Australia said the authority had missed an opportunity to cut household power bills.
Managing Director Richard McIndoe said if the RET had been modified to reflect the strong growth in rooftop solar panel installations, households could have saved $840 a year.
The authority received submissions ranging from axing the RET altogether to increasing the target to boost the share of renewable energy in Australia's overall power mix.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet says the government will respond to the recommendations early in 2013.
© AAP 2018