Guides & Resources

List of Energy Providers in Australia

We’ve put together this thorough article to provide a list of energy providers in Australia.

There is a lot of choice when it comes to energy providers in Australia. Although choice is generally a good thing it can be a double- edged sword as it can overwhelm you. To hopefully reduce this, overwhelm team have put together this handy guide of energy retailers and their cheaper deals for you. Don’t go choosing an energy retailer without reading it first.

Getting More Bang for your Buck

Know that with Cheap Bills you can shop around and find the best and cheap energy deal for you and your family. Our team is on hand to help you find the best deal. We always encourage you to shop around compare the range of deals on offer. Remember so many deals are seasonal, so they are just for one particular time of the year (i.e. winter) and other deals are all year around. Now when you make the switch (switch your provider or deal) you can actual donate your bill to a charity or cause.

Energy Providers Australia

Cheapbills only works with preferred providers, which including Energy Australia, Tango Energy, ActewAGL and Covau. However, here is a list of other providers in the Contestable Energy Market.

How We Work with Energy Retailers

As a comparison website we have formed partnerships with the energy retailers that are on our website. Please note that we don’t promote one retailer over another. This defies the purpose of a comparison website. If you ever come across a comparison website that is trying to push one retailer over another it’s a red flag. Stay Away! A true comparison website should just give you the tools and resources to help you and your family find the cheap and best deals.

Cheap Bills is built on this ethos of passionately helping our customers across Australia compare and find the cheaper deals across the energy and other sectors (Internet, Pay TV, and Insurance). We are neutral and would never say ‘’Energy Australia is better than Origin’’. Instead, we would say something along the lines of, “Given your budget and overall preferences this Origin bundle suits you best.”

Shop Around For a Cheaper Energy Deal

When shopping around for a cheaper energy deal it’s important to take into consideration the following points:

Figure out Your Energy Requirements

This should be your first step as once you know or at least have a decent idea of how much energy you use then you can find a plan that matches your usage requirements. Consider factors like:

Energy usage – light, moderate or heavy
Time of day that energy is most consumed
Number of people in your household
Daily habits – computer usage, gas usage etc

Check your Energy Contract and Plan

Many people surprisingly don’t even check or to be more accurate understand their energy contract and plan. Do you even know what is meant by paying per energy unit? Daily surcharge? Deregulated energy? Many people don’t or they just pretend to know. But understanding these terms makes all the difference as it shows you exactly what you’re paying for and what exactly you’re saving money on. Refer to our glossary to help you understand the terms.

Compare Energy Plans

Once you’ve done the above steps you’re now ready to start compare energy plans to see which one suits your energy usage requirements and suits your budget. Check out our great range of energy plans here which are the most updated.

Cheap Energy Deals of the Month

Check out our latest and cheap energy deals of the month that our team have found and put together here for you. These are HOT as they come with some great perks and bonuses and all at great lower pricing.

A Quick Note on the Big Three in Energy

You’ve probably heard of the ‘big four’ banks when it comes to finance, but did you know there is the ‘big three’ when it comes energy? These are Origin Energy, AGL and Energy Australia. They have the largest retail market share in both electricity and gas across the deregulated states. So, in all they are Australia’s largest energy providers. Each of these still offers customers some pretty good cheap deals across their electricity and gas. Just check out some of their deals by getting in touch with us.

Energy Retailers and Tiers in Australia

In Australia energy retailers come under a Tier 1 and a Tier 2 retailer. Its basically a framework similar to the one with broadband tiers. Tier 1 energy retailers are energy providers that have more than 10% of the market share in a network region (i.e. Ausgrid or Essential Energy), which include the big three. They also include Alinta Energy, Simply Energy, and the dual ownership of Red and Lumo Energy in some network areas.

Whilst Tier 2 energy retailers are energy providers that hold less than 10% of the market share in a network region. Just 10 years ago, Tier 2 retailers were almost non-existent in most states, however there are more than 20 of these smaller companies today. This means the level of competition across the areas they operate in has increased.

Government Owned Electricity Retailers

We thought you might like to know which energy retailers (for electricity) are government owned:

ActewAGL

Operating in the ACT and regional parts of NSW, ActewAGL is jointly owned by Icon Water Limited (an ACT Government owned corporation) and AGL Energy via subsidiary companies. The retail arm has 145,000 gas customers and more than 195,000 residential and business customers.

Aurora Energy

Operating in Tasmania, Aurora Energy provides services to around 280,000 Tasmanians and is one of only three electricity retailers operating in the state.

Ergon Energy

Operating in regional cities like Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville Ergon Energy supplies electricity to more than 700,000 customers in the region.

Momentum Energy

Owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania (Tasmanian Government business enterprise and generator). Momentum Energy retails electricity to homes and businesses across NSW, Victoria, and South Australia. It has approx. 250,000 customers and is known for being 100% Australian-owned.

Red Energy/Lumo Energy

Red and Lumo Energy are both retail subsidiaries of Snowy Hydro (Federal Government owned energy generation company). Each of them has a combined base of almost one million customers across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia.

Things to Consider with your Energy Retailer

No matter who your energy retailer is we would always encourage you to always ask the following questions as these provide you with a great framework for understanding what you’re getting:

Are you offering me a plan with the lowest usage charges?
How does your plan compare to the Victorian Default Offer (VDO)?
Is this plan part of a contract? How long is it? Are there any exit fees if I leave?
How much money exactly am I saving on my energy?
What are your late payment fees?
What other perks and incentives can you offer me?

A Note on Energy and Deregulation

In Australia except for Western Australia energy is deregulated which essentially means that the government which was traditionally in control of the energy sector no longer holds that control. Instead, the power has shifted to private energy companies who are free to set their own price without much interference from the government.

This allows for a much more competitive market where energy providers can offer many different electricity offers and deals. Since the deregulation of energy there have been many more energy providers coming onto the market.

With these providers comes more choice for the consumer but also more confusion as you often don’t know which offer is best for you. Thankfully comparing has never been easier with CheapBills who is 100% committed to finding the best deal for you.