Mon-Fri 9AM to 8PM (AEST)This guide will explain the important role your energy distributor plays and help you find out who yours is. Read on!
Contents
- What Is An Energy Distributor?
- Why Should I Care About Who My Energy Distributor Is?
- How Do Energy Distributors Work?
- Differences Between Energy Distributors and Retailers
- Electricity Distributors State By State In Australia
- Gas Distributors State By State In Australia
What Is An Energy Distributor?
An energy distributor delivers electricity and gas to homes and businesses across Australia. It is your distributor, not your energy service provider who owns and maintains all the powerlines, poles, pipes, and meters that make the transmission of electrical power and natural gas possible.
Energy service providers, who you pay your bills to, play a different role. They buy electricity and gas from generators before reselling it to you at a higher price. The price you pay for electricity and gas reflects the energy provider’s service charge, the price of the electricity and gas itself, and the distributor’s transmission charges, which the energy provider collects on their behalf.
Distribution costs can make up as much as 50% of your total energy bill. Thankfully, you can get cheaper deals on your energy.
Why Should I Care about Who My Energy Distributor Is?
You should care about who your energy distributor is because they are responsible for the maintenance of all the energy infrastructure and so if something goes wrong you need to contact them not your energy service provider. Many people still mistakenly believe that it’s their energy provider that they need to call when something goes wrong (i.e: no power, a blackout). But they will just direct you to your energy distributor.
How Do Energy Distributors Work?
Most energy distributors are quick in responding to emergency situations like blackouts and other faults. Although just like with anything in life, delays can occur as in the event of a natural disaster or severe weather like storms.In both these situations your energy distributor can be impacted, and work can be delayed. They generally list scheduled maintenance or reported issues on their website to inform you. In addition, you can sign up to their SMS alerts. They have 24-hour emergency phone numbers for issues like fallen powerlines, struck gas pipes etc.
Differences Between Energy Distributors and Retailers
To really help you understand the differences between energy distributors and retailers we’ve provided here a quick summary of the differences between the two.Energy Distributors
- Build and maintain power poles, wires, and infrastructure
- Repair damage to the electricity network (i.e: fallen power lines)
- Respond to power outages and emergencies.
- Read your energy meter and send that information to your retailer
Energy retailers
- Build and maintain the individual power connection of properties
- Repair local electrical faults that aren’t part of the greater power grid
- Issue your energy bills which are based on meter readings
- Sell energy to consumers at retail prices using power plans
Electricity Distributors State by State in Australia
You don’t get to choose who your distributor is. Instead, distributors service particular regions, meaning your distributor is based on where you live. So, there are many different energy distributors in the different states of Australia. Not sure who your distributor is? No worries, check out our list below.
Victoria has five electricity distributors which is more than other Australian state or territory. They each cover different regions in Victoria.
| Distributor | Location |
| Jemena | North and south-west Melbourne |
| CitiPower | Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs |
| AusNet Services | Eastern Victoria, northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne |
| United Energy | Southern Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula |
| Powercor | Western Victoria, excluding all of Melbourne |
In NSW, despite the region being larger than Victoria it only has three electricity distributors – Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy.
Distributor | Location |
Ausgrid | Greater Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast, inland near Muswellbrook and Merriwa |
Endeavour Energy | The Blue Mountains, Sydney’s Greater West, the Southern Highlands, Illawarra, the South Coast |
Essential Energy | 95% of NSW in rural areas, plus some of south-west QLD |
There are just two distributors in the whole of Queensland despite its large size. This makes it nice and easy for Queenslanders to know who their distributors are.
Distributor | Location |
Energex | South-east QLD, including Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast |
Ergon Energy | Rural and regional QLD |
Like Queensland the ACT has two energy distributors.
Distributor | Location |
EvoEnergy | The vast majority of the ACT |
Essential Energy | A few remote customers here and there, plus Queanbeyan |
There is just one energy distributor in South Australia, at least as of 2021 (as per the date of content publish).
Distributor | Location |
SA Power Networks | All of South Australia |
Just like with South Australia there is just one energy distributor in Tasmania as of 2023.
Distributor | Location |
TasNetworks | All of Tasmania |
Like South Australia and Tasmania, the Northern Territory has just one energy distributor.
Distributor | Location |
Power and Water Corporation | All of the Northern Territory |
Gas Distributors State by State in Australia
Like South Australia and Tasmania, the Northern Territory has just one energy distributor.
Now that you know who your energy distributor for electricity is, we also want to provide you with a list of gas distributors state by state in Australia.
There are three gas distributors in Victoria. Each is responsible for a separate geographic region of Victoria.
Distributor | Location |
Australian Gas Networks | northern, eastern and southern areas of metropolitan Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, and northern, eastern and south eastern areas of Victoria |
Multinet Gas | Melbourne’s inner and outer east, the Yarra Ranges and South Gippsland |
AusNet Services | Western Melbourne, central and western Victoria |
NSW currently has just two gas distributors available for its region.
Distributor | Location |
Central Ranges System | Tamworth |
Jemena Gas Networks (NSW) | Sydney, Newcastle, Central Coast, Wollongong and parts of country NSW |
There are two main electricity distributors in Queensland.
Distributor | Location |
Allgas Energy | Southern suburbs and Mornington Peninsula |
Australian Gas Networks | Brisbane region (Brisbane CBD, north of the Brisbane River and Ipswich) and Northern Region (Rockhampton and Gladstone) |
The main gas distributor in the ACT is Evoenergy owned by ActewAGL.
Distributor | Location |
Evoenergy | All of Australian Capital Territory |
South Australia has just one main gas distributor available throughout its region.
Distributor | Location |
Australian Gas Networks | All of South Australia |
Tasmania has just one gas distributor making it nice and easy for you to remember.
Distributor | Location |
Tas Gas Networks | All of Tasmania |
In the Northern Territory there is just one network – a subsidiary of the APA group in Darwin.
Distributor | Location |
N. T. Gas Distribution | All of Northern Territory |
Extra Things to Keep in Mind
Now that you have a much better understanding of who your energy distributor is both for your electricity and gas, you can hopefully realize the important part they play. It’s easy to just focus on shopping around for a cheaper energy deal and pay little or no attention to your energy distributor. But knowing who your energy distributor is and the part they play in your energy distributions gives you more insight and appreciation of how energy comes your way.For more help with your energy and in particular choosing the right energy deal for you at the best and cheapest price contact our team at CheapBills, the leading comparison experts in Australia.
