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The rising cost of energy has become the biggest concern for Australian business leaders, proving to be three times more prevalent than concerns about tariff changes and international trade uncertainty, and more than seven times more concerning than cyber attacks. This shift in business priorities is not surprising, particularly considering earlier this year, the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) Default Market Offer (DMO) for 2025-26 announced an increase of up to 8.5 per cent for small businesses.
There are a range of factors attributed to rising power prices, and as many small businesses are simultaneously battling a cost-of-living crisis and inflation, it’s important to have a plan for how to financially manage and control growing bills.
Know Your Entitlements
From July 1 next year, energy retailers will be required to inform Centrelink recipients about discounts they may be entitled to. Until then, customers are expected to do their own research to understand their eligibility. Currently, more than half of Australians are likely missing discounts they deserve but don’t know about.
Small business owners are often too time-poor to be regularly checking what’s on offer. In the energy space, there is a constantly evolving range of rebates, discounts, sales and incentives to stay across, making it even more challenging to be consistently aware of the most relevant entitlements to your business. However, by putting this research in the ‘too hard basket’, businesses could be missing out on saving thousands of dollars every month. It will pay to find a middle ground. Find a simple way to stay up to date, either by trusted blogs or news sources, to ensure you’re claiming what you’re entitled to in a timely and efficient manner.
Keep Service Providers On Their Toes
Small businesses are notorious for rarely switching energy providers, despite research showing most businesses could find cost savings if they proactively compared their service provider against others in the market. The most obvious culprit is traditional electricity providers, but this also applies to internet and broadband services, solar and battery services, insurance providers, credit card services and other financial loan providers.
When service providers are aware that a significant portion of the SMB sector is likely to stay with their provider for years at a time, regardless of the level of service they’re receiving, there is little incentive to offer better quality or pricing. SMB owners have the power to flick the switch – by proactively and regularly comparing service providers, and then switching to a new provider when a better or cheaper service is discovered, it sends a strong signal to the market that there is a benefit to making services cheaper, more accessible and more competitive.
Be particularly aware of times throughout the year when service providers may look to increase prices or add complexity to how they break down costs. This could be at the start of a season when businesses are more likely to use heaters or air conditioning, or the start of the financial year when new government policies take effect. Service providers will usually inform you of an upcoming change to your bills, but it’s up to you to compare their new offer to what else is in the market. Comparing may feel like a lot of work, but in reality, the current market is set up to make this process easy for consumers and small business owners. Set aside a few minutes every couple of months to make a quick comparison, and it could make a significant impact on the business’ bottom line.
Proactive Steps For Business Owners
As the cost of running a business continues to grow and become more complex, it can be overwhelming for business owners to know where to start with cutting costs in an effective way. Start with taking a proactive stance to understanding your current bills, what benefits you could be entitled to, and comparing service providers to ensure you’re getting the best price and service for your business needs.
Ankit Jain is CEO and Co-Founder of Econnex.
Last Updated on October 30, 2025 by Ankit Jain
