Electricity Rates by State in Australia

Your electricity bill has two charges: a daily supply charge (fixed, paid regardless of usage) and a usage charge (cents per kilowatt-hour consumed). Both vary by state, retailer, and tariff type. A household in South Australia pays roughly 37c per kWh. The same household in Tasmania pays around 26c per kWh. That gap adds up to hundreds of dollars per year.

This article compares residential electricity rates across all Australian states and territories using data from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), state-specific default market offers, and retailer pricing as of early 2026.

The table below shows the reference price or default offer for each state, which acts as a benchmark. Retailers can offer plans above or below this benchmark. The percentage discount you see advertised (e.g., "15% off the reference price") applies against this figure.

South Australia has the highest electricity prices in the country. The state relies on gas-fired generation to fill gaps when wind and solar output drops, and wholesale gas prices push retail rates up. Tasmania has the lowest mainland rates thanks to hydroelectric generation through Hydro Tasmania, which supplies around 90% of the state's power.

Most households never negotiate a plan, so the regulated safety net price is what they end up paying. The Australian Energy Regulator sets that price each year as the Default Market Offer, and its final determination for 2026-27 moved in a direction bills have not gone in years.

The AER attributes the fall to wholesale costs, with less volatility in the market and more output from renewable generation and battery storage. South Australia moving the other way by a small margin shows how much of your bill is set by network costs specific to where you live rather than by the national picture.

Victoria sits outside this framework. The Essential Services Commission sets the Victorian Default Offer separately, so a Victorian comparing headlines against a Sydney household is reading a different regulator's number.

Treat the safety net as a ceiling rather than a target. Retailers compete below it, and the gap between the default price and the cheapest market offer runs to several hundred dollars a year on the same usage. The government's Energy Made Easy compares every offer available at your address using your own consumption data, which is the only comparison that reflects what you would actually pay.

Your bill has two components and only one of them responds to using less power. The usage charge is cents per kilowatt hour. The supply charge is a fixed daily amount that applies whether you use anything at all.

Daily supply charges run from about 80 cents to $1.90 depending on your network, which is $290 to $690 a year before a single appliance turns on. In practice that means a low-usage household on a plan with a high supply charge and a low usage rate can pay more than a neighbour on the reverse.

The lesson is that a low usage rate matters most to heavy users and a low supply charge matters most to light ones. Comparison sites rank on the usage rate by default, which is why a single person in a one-bedroom flat often picks a plan that costs them more.

Networks have been moving households onto demand tariffs as smart meters roll out, and plenty of people are on one without knowing. A demand tariff adds a third charge on top of usage and supply, based on your single highest half-hour of consumption during a defined peak window across the month.

The logic is that networks size their infrastructure for peak load rather than total consumption, so a household that draws 8kW for thirty minutes on one January evening costs the network more than one that draws 2kW steadily. The effect on a bill is that one afternoon can set a charge you pay for the whole month.

Avoiding a demand charge is behavioural rather than about frugality. Running the air conditioner, the oven, the dishwasher and the dryer in the same half hour on a hot evening sets a peak that costs you all month. Staggering them by an hour costs nothing and changes the charge.

Check which tariff you are on before optimising anything. Your bill names it, and a household on a demand tariff that behaves as though it were on a flat rate is paying for a pattern it could change for free.

Usage rates are abstract until they attach to something. At 33c per kWh, which sits near the middle of the national range, here is what the larger loads in a house cost.

Two lines in that table are worth acting on. A pool pump running eight hours a day costs more than most households spend on heating, and cutting it to five in the cooler months takes about $400 off the year with no visible difference to the water. The spare fridge in the garage, usually an older unit kept for drinks, costs more to run than the main one because it is older and because a hot garage makes it work harder.

Hot water is the largest single load in most Australian homes and the easiest to move. On a time-of-use or controlled load tariff it heats overnight at a fraction of the peak rate, and the change is a phone call to your retailer rather than any equipment.

Three factors drive the gap: generation source, network costs, and market structure.

Generation source determines the wholesale price floor. States that rely on coal (NSW, QLD) or hydro (TAS) have lower wholesale costs than states dependent on gas peaking plants (SA). Victoria sits in the middle, with brown coal stations closing and renewables growing. Wholesale electricity costs make up 30% to 40% of your retail bill.

Network costs (poles and wires) make up another 40% to 50% of the bill. States with long transmission distances, sparse populations, or aging infrastructure charge more. Queensland's network extends thousands of kilometres from Cairns to the Gold Coast. Tasmania's smaller, more concentrated grid keeps network charges lower.

Market structure matters too. Deregulated states (NSW, VIC, SA, SE QLD, ACT) let multiple retailers compete for your business. You can shop around and switch. Regulated states (WA, TAS, NT, regional QLD) have a single government-owned retailer setting prices. Competition tends to push prices down, but not always. SA is deregulated and still the most expensive state. Our Origin Energy review examines one of the largest retailers operating across these deregulated markets.

Your tariff structure changes how much you pay, even at the same retailer. A flat-rate tariff charges the same cents per kWh regardless of when you use electricity. A time-of-use (TOU) tariff charges more during peak periods and less during off-peak.

If you run your dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer after 10pm, a TOU tariff saves you money. If you work from home and use air conditioning from 2pm to 6pm, a flat rate protects you from peak surcharges. Check your smart meter data through your retailer's app or MyEnergy portal to see your usage pattern before switching tariffs. Switching internet providers alongside your energy retailer can compound savings. Our guide to switching NBN providers covers the process.

Solar feed-in tariffs pay you for excess electricity your panels export to the grid. Rates have dropped from the generous 40c to 60c per kWh offered to early adopters (now grandfathered) to 3c to 12c per kWh for new installations in 2026.

In NSW, feed-in tariffs range from 3c to 8c per kWh depending on the retailer. Victorian retailers offer 4c to 7c. Queensland's current rates sit between 5c and 10c. South Australia, despite high retail rates, offers low feed-in tariffs of 3c to 7c because the grid already has high solar penetration during daylight hours.

The low feed-in rate means self-consumption delivers more value than exporting. A kWh you use from your panels saves you 30c (the retail rate you avoid paying). A kWh you export earns you 5c. A battery system lets you store daytime solar generation for evening use, capturing that full 30c value instead of the 5c export rate. A 10 kWh battery system costs $8,000 to $14,000 installed and takes 7 to 12 years to pay back at current rates.

Your retailer sets the rate. Your behaviour determines the volume. The AER's Energy Made Easy website (energymadeeasy.gov.au) lets you compare plans by entering your postcode and current usage. Victorian residents use the Victorian Energy Compare site (compare.energy.vic.gov.au). Both tools pull live retailer pricing.

Beyond switching plans, the biggest bill reductions come from heating and cooling. Reverse-cycle air conditioners use 2 to 5 kWh per hour on cooling mode. Set the thermostat to 24 degrees in summer instead of 20 degrees. Each degree of cooling below 24 adds 5% to 10% to your cooling costs. In winter, set the heater to 18 or 20 degrees. Seal gaps under doors and around windows. A $15 door snake reduces heat loss more than a $3,000 ducted system running at full capacity into a leaky house.

Switch your hot water to a heat pump or move an existing electric storage system onto a controlled load tariff. Hot water heating accounts for 20% to 25% of the average household electricity bill. A controlled load tariff charges 15c to 22c per kWh instead of the standard 28c to 35c, because the retailer heats your water during off-peak hours.

Check your bill for the state government rebate or concession you may qualify for. NSW offers the Low Income Household Rebate ($285 per year). Victoria's utility relief grants cover up to $650 in arrears. Queensland's electricity rebate delivers $1,072 per year for eligible households. Every state has its own scheme, and most require a Centrelink concession card.