Customers in NSW and SA will see a slight drop in their electricity bills after the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released its default market offer (DMO) for 2024-25.
But the news is less good for south-east Queenslanders, who are expected to see a modest increase in their electricity rates. Victoria, which has its own energy regulator, will also see a slight drop in their bills.
The changes will come into effect from July, and will directly impact anybody being billed under the DMO for their state. In addition, the DMO acts as a reference point for other offers in the market, so even those who aren’t on the DMO may see price movement.
NSW
Overall, NSW residents should see their bills drop by an average of 1 per cent – but this isn’t the whole story.
For residents in Ausgrid’s network area (Eastern and northern Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter Valley), prices are actually set to jump between 2.5 per cent and 6.3 per cent, depending on customer type.
Residents in Endeavour Energy’s network area (Western Sydney, Blue Mountains, Southern highlands, Illawarra and the South Coast) will also see price rises of between 2.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent.
But the big NSW winners are residents in Essential Energy’s network area (rest of NSW not covered by the previous retailers) who will see their prices go down between 2.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent.
SA
A slightly larger drop, SA customers have had their DMO dropped by around 2.8 per cent, which welfare advocacy group SACOSS says will amount to an annual reduction of about $63.
SACOSS expressed concern that the DMO in SA is only dropping by a small amount when it estimates power production costs in the state have fallen by 21 per cent over the same period.
QLD
Residents of the south-east corner of the sunshine state are set to be the only real losers with the new DMO changes.
From 1 July the DMO in Queensland will rise 4.2 per cent, and customers in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast should see their bills jump.
As for the rest of Queensland, its power is generated by government-owned entities and is not subject to the DMO.
VIC
As mentioned, Victoria has its own energy regulator, known perhaps unsurprisingly as the Victorian Energy Regulator (VER), which sets its own default offer for customers in that state.
Late last month, the VER announced the Victorian Default Offer for 2024-25 would see bills drop by around 6 per cent, or around $100 per year.
What is the DMO?
The DMO is a price ceiling for electricity prices in jurisdictions that aren’t covered by any retail price regulation – namely NSW, SA and south-east Queensland.
As mentioned, the DMO acts as a reference point for electricity retailers to base their offers on and as a kind of safety net for people who don’t have the time, or the inclination, to shop around for the best power deals.
For customers in Tasmania and the ACT, electricity prices are set by regulators there and in WA and the NT prices are set directly by government.
How will power prices change for you? Is there a better way to regulate energy prices? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Also read: How to save $6000 on your energy bills
As a regional Queenslander nothing is set to change here because our government kept ownership of the generators while some other places sold them off to private enterprise so those operators could chase profits meaning higher prices for consumers.
That aside I am very happy to be about to have about $1,300 in federal and state subsidies applied to my power bill as I think every Queenslander is getting from July with pensioner subsidies coming on top of that amount giving us even more.
I have rooftop solar and low power bills so I should have a credit on my electricity bills for at least the next two years.
Every bit helps I guess but nowhere near enough in SA, $63 doesn’t touch the edges of my bill!