Electricity bills are set to surge by up to 9.7% for some Australians from July, according to the latest reference price details released by the Australian Energy Regulator, although most households will see smaller increases.
The Australian Energy Regulator has revealed the final Default Market Offer (DMO) for over half a million households and small businesses in NSW, south-east Queensland, and South Australia from 1 July, while Victorians are also going to see an increase.
The DMO acts as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in the above states.
The Victorian Default Offer, set by the Essential Services Commission, has also been released. There are approximately 348,000 Victorian households and 55,000 small business customers currently on the Victorian Default Offer.
Electricity Price Rises In NSW
In NSW, the NSW Roadmap cost increases and higher transmission costs are helping drive increases.
- Residential customers without controlled load will see price increases of 8.5% to 9.1%;
- Customers with controlled load will see price increases of 8.3% to 9.7%;
- Small business customers will see increases of 7.9% to 8.5%.
Electricity Price Rises In SE Queensland
In SE Queensland, increases are offset by the return of previously overrecovered revenues, and decreases in costs for Queensland residential customers with controlled load reflect lower prices for controlled load tariffs.
- Residential customers without controlled load will see price increases of 3.7%;
- Customers with controlled load will see price increases of 0.5%;
- Small business customers will see increases of 0.8%.
Electricity Price Rises In South Australia
In South Australia, increases were partly linked to expenditure to improve the management of safety risks to the public and workers. Increases are partially offset by the return of previously over-recovered revenues, and reduced allocation of transmission costs to the residential flat rate tariff.
- Residential customers without controlled load will see price increases of 3.2%;
- Customers with controlled load will see price increases of 2.3%.
Electricity Price Rises In Victoria
The Victorian Default Offer, which is set separately, is also set to increase, according to the state’s Essential Services Commission. This increase is primarily driven by higher network and wholesale electricity costs, and is partially offset by lower environmental costs.
- For residential customers on the Victorian Default Offer, changes to annual prices vary, dropping by $26 in one distribution zone but increasing by between $4 and $90 in others, compared to 2024–25. The average across the five zones is a 1% increase, or $20, on last year;
- For small businesses on the Victorian Default Offer, annual prices would increase across the five distribution zones by between $10 and $177, compared to 2024–25. The average across the five zones is a 3% ($90) increase on last year.
What About Other States?
The Tasmanian Economic Regulator earlier this month announced electricity prices are set to go up by about 2%.
In the ACT, ActewAGL’s standing offer will rise by an average of 10.11% from July, mainly driven by the increase in wholesale electricity costs, network costs and the ACT Government’s large-scale feed-in tariff (LFiT) scheme costs.
In Western Australia, regulated electricity prices are determined by the State Government annually as part of the State Budget, which will be handed down in June.
Shop Around For A Better Deal
AER Chair Clare Savage said the increases were a difficult decision, but observed that better deals than the DMO are available:
“We know this is not welcome news for consumers in the current cost-of-living environment. As noted in our draft determination, sustained pressures across almost all components of the DMO have driven these price rises, with wholesale and network costs rising in most jurisdictions between 1% and 11%, and retail costs between 8% and 35% compared with last year… I strongly encourage all consumers to avoid staying on an old or uncompetitive plan. Contact your retailer to see if you can get a better offer or shop around. At least every 100 days your retailer must tell you on the front page of your bill if they can offer you a better deal.”
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen echoed this point, noting that although the DMO is the benchmark for standard offers from retailers, the AER has recorded significantly lower market offers:
“With energy plans that are between 18% and 27% cheaper than the DMO it’s worth shopping around. It’s clear energy bills for Australians remain too high, and we’re providing help for people doing it tough as we deliver longer term reform. We also know 80% of households aren’t on the cheapest energy plan they could be which is why we’re making it easier for households to find and switch to better plans. Check the Energy Made Easy website or energy.gov.au for the cheapest plans in your area.”
The federal government has urged households to check that they’re on the cheapest energy plan available, with recent ACCC data showing some 80% of households could be paying less on a different deal.
SolarQuotes’ electricity plan comparison tool.
Calculate The Difference
To shop around for a better deal, you can use our electricity comparison plan tool, which also includes solar feed-in-tariffs.
To cut bills further, solar and/or a home battery could be an option. To work out how much they could reduce your electricity bills, try our Solar & Battery Calculator, which was recently updated to factor in the new federal battery rebate. We’ve also released a new video on the best batteries available in 2025, as chosen by installers.
