Analysis Of Residential Market Electricity Plans In Australia [April 2024]

We analysed 7,612 electricity plans on offer in Australia in April 2024, to answer one question - how do residential electricity prices differ across the country?

Specifically, we looked at every single residential market electricity plan available on the National Electricity Market - which covers QLD, NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and SA.

We analysed factors like daily supply charges, usage charges, solar feed in tariffs and others to identify which regions have the highest prices.

In this article, I'm going to share what we discovered.

Summary

• Adelaide is the capital city with the most expensive electricity, with electricity costing 47.1 c/kWh for a typical 2 person household once daily usage charges are factored in.
• South Australia has the highest electricity rates on the NEM, at over 40 c/kWh for single use rate plans. This is 49% higher than the average of the rest of the NEM.
• Regional NSW (on the Essential Energy network) has the highest daily supply charges, at an average of 152 cents per day. This is 61% higher than the average of the rest of the NEM.
• Households from Hobart spend the most on electricity (average of $2,466 per year for a 2 person household), though this is due to their large consumption (67% greater than the average of the other capital cities on the NEM).
• Adelaide is the capital city with the highest average peak electricity rates, at 47.3 c/kWh.
• Regional Queensland (excluding SEQ) has the highest average solar feed in tariff rates, at 13.4 c/kWh.
• Victoria has the lowest average solar feed in tariffs on the NEM, at an average of 5.1 c/kWh, and a maximum of 9.9 c/kWh.
• Hobart is the capital city with the highest average solar feed in tariff rates, at 10.9 c/kWh.
• Regional Queensland (excluding SEQ) has the least competition, with Ergon Energy being the sole retailer offering residential electricity plans.
• Tasmania has the lowest off peak electricity rates, at just 15.8 c/kWh.
• Canberra is the capital city with the highest average disconnection fees, at $43.84.

Adelaide is the most expensive capital city for electricity

Raw electricity usage rates don't tell the full tale when it comes to evaluating how expensive electricity is in a particular city.

Once you factor in benchmark electricity usage data for each city (from the Australian Energy Regulator), you can estimate annual costs based on usage rates and daily supply charges. This helps determine the real cost of electricity per kWh.

Adelaide has one of the lowest electricity consumption rates of the capital cities, at just 5,047 kWh per year. Hobart has one of the highest rates, at 8,724 kWh per year.

For a typical 2 person household, Adelaide has the most expensive electricity of any capital city on the NEM, at a real rate of 47.1 cents per kWh.

Hobart has the cheapest real electricity rates, at just 28.1 cents per kWh.

South Australia has the highest electricity rates on the NEM

While raw electricity rates don't tell the full tale, they can help us understand electricity affordability.

Across the 430 residential electricity plans on offer in South Australia in April 2024, the average single use electricity rate was 40.4 cents per kWh.

The lowest single use electricity rate was in the ACT, which is on the EvoEnergy network.

Regional NSW has the highest daily supply charges

Daily supply charges are a critical but often overlooked part of determining electricity affordability. They are the rate that electricity providers charge for a household to be connected to the electricity grid.

Regional NSW (on the Essential Energy network) has the highest daily supply charges, at an average of 152 cents per day. This is 61% higher than the average of the rest of the NEM.

The United Energy network (south eastern Melbourne) has the lowest daily supply charges, at 78 cents per day.

Households in Hobart spend the most on electricity

Once benchmark electricity usage data for each region and household size from the Australian Energy Regulator is matched against the electricity rates for that particular region, a typical annual electricity bill can be calculated.

Hobart has the highest electricity consumption, at 8,784 kWh per 2 person household.

Hobart is the capital city that spends the most on electricity, with an annual bill of approximately $2,466 for 2 person households.

2 person households in Melbourne spend the least on electricity, with an average annual bill of $1,400.

Adelaide has the highest average peak electricity rates

As more and more households get smart meters installed, time of use electricity plans have become increasingly common.

These plans charge households different electricity usage rates based on the time of day. Peak times are the most expensive, and typically fall on weekday evenings.

Adelaide has the highest average peak electricity rates at 47.3 cents per kWh. This is 31% higher than the average of the other capital cities.

The lowest is Melbourne, with an average of just 30.1 cents per kWh.

Tasmania is the capital city with the lowest off peak electricity rates

For the regions, Tasmania has the lowest off peak electricity rates, at 15.8 cents per kWh.

Regional Queensland has the highest solar feed in tariff rates

A combination of large solar feed in tariffs offered in the past, along with rising electricity prices more recently has led to rapid uptake in residential solar panels.

Households can use solar panels to reduce their consumption of electricity from the grid, as well as feed excess electricity into the grid to reduce their bills.

Regional Queensland (excluding SEQ) has the highest average solar feed in tariff rates, at 13.4 c/kWh.

Victoria has the lowest solar feed in tariffs

Conversely, Victoria has the lowest solar feed in tariff rates, at an average of 5.1 cents per kWh, and a maximum of just 9.9 cents per kWh.

Hobart is the capital city with the highest solar feed in tariffs

Of the capital cities on the NEM, Hobart has the highest average solar feed in tariff rates, at 10.9 c/kWh.

Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide have maximum solar feed in tariff rates of 20 cents per kWh.

Regional Queensland has the least competition

While each region of Australia only has a single electricity distributor, they typically have multiple electricity retailers who offer plans.

This tends to encourage competition and keep prices low.

However, regional Queensland (ie. QLD excluding south east Queensland) has only a single electricity retailer (Ergon Energy).

Canberra is the capital city with the highest disconnection fees

Most electricity retailers in Australia charge disconnection fees when you turn off your electricity at a particular residence (eg. when moving house).

These rates are often passed on from charges by the electricity distributor.

Canberra is the capital city with the highest disconnection rates, with an average of $43.84 per disconnection.

Conclusion

Thanks for taking the time to look through our analysis of 7,612 residential electricity plans on offer in Australia in April 2024.

Feel free to quote any of the statistics, or use any of the charts in this report for your own work, as long as you provide attribution in the form of a link back to this page.

If you have any questions about this study, feel free to get in touch at louis@energyse.com.au.

Method

To prepare this analysis, publicly available electricity plan data from the Australian Energy Regulator were gathered.

Analysis was carried out on the data to see if any trends emerged for factors like daily supply charges, usage rates, solar feed in tariffs and more.

Correlations and trends that were identified were charted and described in this report.

For more information about this study, or any other general questions, get in touch at louis@energyse.com.au.