Energy bills are set to go up again from July, but you can soften the blow
Regulators have revealed potential energy bill hikes of up to 9% for households and small businesses in NSW, VIC, SA, and South East QLD starting 1 July 2025.
These benchmarks or reference prices help households in NSW, SA, southeast QLD, and VIC compare electricity plans. Ideally, you want a plan that's cheaper than the benchmark.
Good to know: Plans cheaper than the benchmark are usually called market offers. If you haven't shopped around for a new plan, you're probably on a standing offer, also known as the Default Market Offer (DMO) or the Victorian Default Offer (VDO), which is often close to the benchmark price.
Don't wait for 1 July to start saving on your energy bills.
Compare energy plans to find a cheaper deal.
New proposed electricity prices for NSW, SA and South East QLD
Power prices for households and small businesses across the three major states will jump up between $61 to $376 depending on where you're based, according to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).
| State/Network | Without controlled load (Residential) | With controlled load (Residential) | Small business without controlled load |
|---|---|---|---|
NSW (Ausgrid) | $1,969 (8.8% or +$159) | $2,714 (8.2% or +$205) | $4,988 (8.2% or +$376) |
NSW (Endeavour) | $2,397 (7.8% or +$174) | $3,050 (8.9% or +$249) | $4,762 (7.7% or +$340) |
NSW (Essential) | $2,713 (8% or +$200) | $3,174 (8.3% or +$243) | $6,183 (7.8% or +$450) |
QLD (Energex) | $2,185 (5.8% or +$119) | $2,475 (2.5% or +$61) | $4,439 (4.2% or +$178) |
SA (SA Power Networks) | $2,344 (5.1% or +$114) | $2,881 (4.4% or +$121) | $5,707 (6.6% or +$355) |
Good to know: A controlled load is an electricity tariff that offers separate metering for appliances like hot water systems or pool pumps.
New proposed electricity prices for VIC
Victoria's energy regulator has proposed that on average, prices are expected to go up by $103, which is a 3% increase from last year.
- Average annual electricity costs to increase from $1,655 to $1,667 for customers with a yearly usage of 4,000kWh.
- If you're on the VDO, your annual electricity costs could go down by $19 in some areas but up by as much as $68 in others.
- For small businesses on a VDO, annual prices would rise by between $77 and $128 across the five distribution zones.
According to the Essential Services Commission, 337,000 households and 56,000 small businesses are on a standing offer in Victoria.
Why are energy bills going up, AGAIN?
We saw two years of sharp electricity price hikes before they somewhat plateaued back last year. However, based on the draft decisions, it seems we're in for another year of power bill pain starting 1 July.
The regulators have cited wholesale power prices and network costs that can make a large chunk of a household or small business's energy bill (up to 40%).
Gavin Dufty, the national director of energy at St Vincent de Paul, echoes the reasoning to Finder.
These stubbornly sticky high electricity costs are due to wholesale prices not falling back to levels they were three or so years ago, while at the same time increases in the cost for poles and wires that deliver the electricity to our houses have gone up.
Retail costs have also increased slightly, though they are a smaller component of the benchmark prices.
Energy bill stress still front of mind for many Aussies
According to our survey, 29% of Aussies got an unexpectedly high energy bill in the past year, and one in five said their energy bill was one of their most stressful expenses last month.
This is despite the $300 in federal government rebates, paid in $75 instalments, with the last round on April 1, and the separate $1,000 energy rebate for Queenslanders.
Since it's unclear whether the federal government will offer another round of rebates, we can expect price hikes with no relief on energy bills.
Your best bet to save on power bills is to shop around
AER Chair Clare Savage is urging Aussies to shop around as the DMO is intended as a safety net, but there are better offers available.
"By early February 2025 we had seen median market offers fall between 2% and 5% compared with July 2024, and the most competitive offers are now 19% to 25% below the current DMO price.
"It's important that consumers regularly shop around to compare available deals and ensure they're on the best plan for their circumstances."
Similar can be said for those living in VIC.
"It is worthwhile noting that the Victorian Default Offer is not the cheapest in the market and we would encourage households to shop around. Our research has found that there are market offers significantly lower than the VDO," says Dufty.
The final call on electricity prices is expected in May.
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