On 1 August 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published its 13th annual report on prices, profits, and margins in the supply of electricity in the National Electricity Market. For the first time, the ACCC undertook analysis of customer outcomes and competition for so-called new energy services, which the ACCC identified as an area of rapid growth and an important part of the energy transition.
To inform the publication of the report, the ACCC collected billing data from retailers covering 97% of residential customers and 90% of business customers in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and South-East Queensland.
Some of the main findings from the ACCC as published in their annual report are set out below:
Firstly, the ACCC found that when measured on an annualised basis, electricity bills rose in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. However, they fell sharply in South-East Queensland largely as a result of Queensland’s $1000 cost of living rebate which was paid to all households as a lump sum in July 2024. Government rebates have helped to reduce electricity bills paid by consumers across all jurisdictions. Although rebates have helped provide bill relief, many customers remain on hardship and/or payment plans. Recent data from the Australian Energy Regulator shows that the number of customers on hardship programs and payment plans both declined in the year to December quarter 2024, with retailers attributing this, in part, to the impact of government rebates. However, disconnection rates in the December quarter 2024 were higher than a year earlier.
The report found that the number of customers on time of use tariffs continues to grow in New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, while demand tariffs remained more common in South-East Queensland. As of 2023-2024, 19% of residential customers across the National Electricity Market were on time of use tariffs, up from 17% in 2022-2023. South Australia led with over 35% of customers on time-of-use tariffs. Demand tariff customers also increased from 4% to 5% over the same period, this has largely been driven by regulatory reforms and network tariff pricing regimes with such tariffs intended to provide price signals to encourage consumers to shift usage to off-peak times or better manage peak demand.
The adoption of solar energy continued to rise as households chose renewable energy in line with environmental concerns and in the pursuit of lower bills and greater energy dependence. Around 40% of households in South Australia and South-East Queensland had solar in 2023-2024, and around 20% of households in Victoria and New South Wales in the same period. Across the National Electricity Market, solar uptake has increased from 17% to 27% of households over the past four years.
The ACCC observed innovation in with emerging new energy service markets rapidly growing in size and importance, observed growing numbers of virtual power plant customers enabled by a 73% increase in the installed battery storage capacity connected to the grid in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and southeast Queensland.
The ACCC noted that there are signs of stronger competition in the emerging market, with over 75 percent of virtual power plant customers identified as being served by smaller providers. This is in stark contrast to the traditional on-market mix with the big three retailers (AGL, Origin, and Energy Australia) currently serving approximately 62 percent of consumers.
The ACCC noted that there is a significant gap between the number of consumers with an installed battery and those participating in a virtual power plant, and a similar gap between the number of electric vehicles and customers on electric vehicle tariffs. This may represent unrealized potential for customers to leverage their energy resources to their financial advantage and to provide greater system-wide benefits.
Billing outcomes for customers with a combined solar and battery system are compelling – these customers can self-consume energy generated by their system, store energy they generate, and move their grid use to times where prices are lower. The ACCC analysis found that consumers with a combined solar and battery system have lower bills than both regular customers and customers with just solar.
We note that Compliance Quarter is currently working on a series of posts looking at innovation in the energy sector, and virtual power plants will be one such innovation that we will cover in depth.
