Energy prices poised to drop for households
Energy bills for households and small businesses are forecast to fall by up to 10 per cent for millions of Australian households.
Source: Mike Bowers
Energy bills for households and small businesses are forecast to fall by up to 10 per cent for millions of Australian households.
The final Default Market Offer, which sets out the maximum amount retailers can charge on plans, shows price reductions for households and even bigger drops for small businesses.
Household standing offer time-of-use prices will fall by up to 10.7 per cent across South Australia, NSW and Queensland’s south-east.
Small business standing offer time-of-use prices are set to fall by between up to 20.9 per cent.
That means the average household in NSW could pay $58 to $226 less than a year previously, and bills could be roughly $216 lower in southeast Queensland.
A more modest $31 fall can be expected in South Australia.
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The Australian Energy Regulator sets the default market offer as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia.
The government said the 2026-27 determination was the first under a reformed framework designed to bolster protections for customers and deliver a better deal.
It follows an announcement by Victoria’s Essential Services Commission on Monday that the average household on the default offer in that state will pay $84 less than a year previously.
Small businesses on the Victorian default offer will save an average of $241 in 2026-27 under the new settings.
Most Victorians are on cheaper market offers rather than the default tariff, but it remains a safeguard for those unwilling or unable to shop around.
It also acts as a benchmark price across the wider market, with retailers required to compare their advertised offers against it.
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About 512,000 Victorian households and 62,000 small businesses are on standing offers affected by the default offer.
Prices across all four states take effect from July 1.
Chris Bowen has credited the boom in renewable energy for helping to lead the bill fall. Photo: Mike Bowers
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said there were three key reasons behind the fall in prices. They included more renewable energy available and batteries lifting pressure off coal and gas, which is used at peak times at night time.
“We’ve got the best sun and wind in the world, and we’re using our sovereign renewables to shield our grid from global energy volatility and to bring down your energy bills,” Bowen said.
“We know energy bills are still too high – because when coal breaks down, your bill goes up – but this news shows steady progress.”
The government has also implemented consumer rule changes to add extra help for customers.
From July 1, the changes mean plan benefits will have to last the whole contract, price increases during fixed contracts will be stopped, unfair fees and dodgy discounts will be banned, and price increases will be limited to once a year.
-with AAP
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