Labor says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been caught out in his use of a "pensioner's" electricity bill as part of his anti-carbon tax campaign.

In questioning the Prime Minister about Hetty Verolme's bill, Mr Abbott said the customer "nearly had a heart attack" when she got her most recent power bill.

It had more than doubled since her previous bill to $1,563 for the months of June and July, and Mr Abbott wanted to know what advice Julia Gillard had for the Perth pensioner.

He followed up with a supplementary question: "With an $800 increase in just one bill of which 70 per cent is due to the carbon tax, how can the Prime Minister possibly claim that Hetty Verolme's compensation is in any way adequate?"

Labor challenged Mr Abbott to table the bill in Parliament so it could verify Mr Abbott's claims, meaning it has now been made publicly available.

An electricity consumption graph on the side of the bill shows that most of the increase was due to a dramatic increase in power usage at Mrs Verolme's home.

It also includes a note saying that electricity prices had increased on July 1 by 2.255 cents per unit because of the carbon tax, which "represents an estimated increase of 9.13 per cent for an average daily usage of 15.89 units".

That is less than the Treasury forecast of a 10 per cent increase in electricity costs because of the carbon tax.

"Once again, the Leader of the Opposition caught out just like he was on Whyalla, caught out just like he was on the coal industry, caught out just like he was on lamb roasts, peddling fear (and) peddling reckless negativity," Ms Gillard told Parliament.

"The one thing you'll never hear from the Leader of the Opposition is anything that sounds like the truth about carbon pricing.

"The Opposition knows that the increase around the country has been what was predicted - 10 per cent or less."

Percentage increase

The power company that supplies Mrs Verolme is Synergy.

When it announced the 9.13 per cent carbon tax-related increase in June, it also said there would be a regular 3.5 per cent rise in power costs, taking the total increase to 12.63 per cent.

As a percentage of the overall percentage increase, the carbon tax component is just over 70 per cent.

Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne responded angrily to the Prime Minister.

"How can it be relevant for the Prime Minister to mislead the Parliament by claiming that the increase is 9 per cent when the Leader of the Opposition asked about 70 per cent of the increase in Western Australia?" Mr Pyne said.

Phone surcharge

The Opposition has also raised concerns about a potential carbon tax surcharge on phone bills.

It has obtained a sample letter from Telstra which considers a "Network Electricity Surcharge" linked to the Government's move to price carbon.

A Telstra spokesman says the letter was prepared as part of a market testing process that is used to "gauge market understanding and reaction to certain topics".

"We have been looking to understand customer reaction and understanding to carbon pricing, and this letter was one of several that was tested with this audience," he said.

"We've made no decisions about pricing changes linked to this issue."