ACCC Warns Households To Review Electricity Plans As Prices Rise

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is urging households to switch electricity plans to avoid overpaying, after its latest Electricity Market Inquiry found many long-term customers are still being charged more than necessary.

The report shows households that have remained on the same electricity plan for over three years are paying an average of $221 more per year than those who have switched to newer plans.

ACCC Commissioner, Anna Brakey, said the gap between what loyal customers and new customers are paying has become significant.

“Loyalty penalties are alive and well in the retail electricity market, so the very best thing people can do to save money is to switch plans – either moving to a cheaper plan offered by their existing retailer or changing retailers,” Brakey said.

Savings As High As $300 A Year

The ACCC’s modelling found that households on regulated safety net plans – including the Default Market Offer (DMO) and the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) – could save between $100 and $250 a year by switching to a cheaper plan, depending on their region.

In New South Wales, average households not on their retailer’s best plan could save up to $300 per year by simply requesting a switch to the lowest-cost available plan.

“Many households could effectively replicate the value of the recently ended government rebates by changing plans,” Brakey said.

She noted that changes introduced under the federal government’s ‘Better Bills’ reforms now require electricity providers to highlight cheaper options on bills every three months.

“Roughly every three months, retailers have to prominently disclose on the first page of electricity bills the potential savings for customers from changing to their cheapest plan,” she said.

“We would strongly encourage households to, at the very least, look at their electricity bill to see how much they could save.”

Millions Still Paying More Than They Should

The ACCC found that 37 per cent of households – around 2.5 million customers – are paying prices at or above the default offer. More than 400,000 of these customers are paying more than 10 per cent above the default rate.

Across the National Electricity Market, which includes South East Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, residential electricity bills increased by an average of 6 per cent from August 2024 to August 2025.

New South Wales saw the largest annual price increase at 9 per cent, followed by South East Queensland at 4 per cent.

‘Better Bills’ And Market Competition

The report suggests that while price pressures remain, reforms have made it easier for households to find better deals.

In 2024–25, about 27 per cent of residential customers were on their retailer’s best plan at some point, compared to just 19 per cent in early 2024. There was also a rise in customers taking up newer plans, increasing from 29 per cent to 42 per cent between August 2024 and August 2025.

The ACCC also identified signs of improving competition in the retail electricity market, with several new providers entering during 2025 and none exiting.

Brakey said this was one positive aspect of an otherwise difficult pricing environment.

“A silver lining to the dark cloud of higher electricity prices is that there is a wide array of different offers out there and the prices vary significantly, which indicates that competition is working,” she said.

“Given that savings are only available to those who change plans, we encourage policy makers to continue to focus on reducing barriers to switching and protecting customers who don’t regularly switch plans.”

Where To Compare Plans

The ACCC is encouraging households to use comparison tools such as Energy Made Easy or Victorian Energy Compare to review their options and identify potential savings.

Default offers act as a safety net for around 10 per cent of households and serve as a reference point for comparing market offers. Market offers – which about 90 per cent of households are on – are set by retailers and can vary considerably in price and terms.

The report excludes the effect of government rebates and solar feed-in tariffs and assumes full achievement of conditional discounts.

Ongoing Inquiry Into Electricity Markets

This is the 14th report released under the ACCC’s ongoing Electricity Market Monitoring inquiry, which was established in 2018 to monitor prices, profits and margins in the National Electricity Market.

In March 2025, the federal government extended the inquiry for another year, with a final report due by 30 June 2026.

The full report is available on the ACCC’s electricity monitoring page.

Last Updated on December 23, 2025 by Nick Ross