Energy bills for households and small businesses are forecast to fall by up to 10 per cent across parts of the eastern states.
The final Default Market Offer, which set out the maximum amount retailers can charge on plans, shows price reductions for households and even bigger drops for small businesses.
Household standing offer time-of-use prices will fall by up to 10.7 per cent across South Australia, NSW and Queensland’s southeast.
Small business standing offer time-of-use prices are set to fall by between up to 20.9 per cent.
The Australian Energy Regulator sets the default market offer as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, southeast Queensland and South Australia.
The government said the 2026-27 determination is the first under a reformed framework designed to bolster protections for customers and deliver a better deal.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said there were three key reasons behind the fall in prices.
These include more renewable energy available and batteries lifting pressure off coal and gas which is used at peak times at night time.
“We’ve got the best sun and wind in the world, and we’re using our sovereign renewables to shield our grid from global energy volatility and to bring down your energy bills,” Mr Bowen said.
“We know energy bills are still too high – because when coal breaks down, your bill goes up – but this news shows steady progress.”
The government has also implemented new consumer rule changes to add extra help for customers.
From July 1, the changes mean plan benefits will have to last the whole contract, price increases during fixed contracts will be stopped, unfair fees and dodgy discounts will be banned, and price increases will be limited to once a year.
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