Energy prices likely to drop for Aussie households
Energy bills for homes and small businesses are predicted to drop by as much as 10 percent in some parts of the eastern states.
The final Default Market Offer, which sets the maximum amount retailers can charge across the plans, shows price reductions for households and even bigger reductions for small businesses.
Household standing offer tenure prices will fall by up to 10.7 per cent across South Australia, NSW and south-east Queensland.
Surviving bid tenure prices for small businesses are expected to fall by up to 20.9 percent.
The Australian Energy Regulator sets the default market quote as the benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia.
The government said the 2026-27 ruling was the first under a reformed framework designed to strengthen protections for customers and deliver a better deal.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said there were three main reasons behind the drop in prices.
These include finding more renewable energy and batteries that take the pressure off coal and gas used during nighttime peak hours.
“We have the best sun and wind in the world and use our dominant renewable energy sources to protect our grid from global energy fluctuations and lower your energy bills,” Mr Bowen said.
“We know energy bills are still very high because when coal goes bad your bill goes up, but this news shows steady progress.”
The government has also introduced new consumer rules changes to provide extra help to customers.
From July 1, the changes mean plan benefits must last for the entire contract, price increases during fixed contracts will be stopped, unfair charges and dodgy discounts will be banned and price increases will be limited to once a year.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
