Australian regulators to review electricity price increases
Sydney (24 June)
The Australian Consumer & Competition Commission (ACCC) and Australian Energy Regulator (AER) will advise Energy Minister Chris Bowen on electricity pricing structures because he raised concerns about electricity inflation last week.
“[ACCC] will work with the energy regulator to provide … advice [about electricity pricing] … We will draw on [customer and retailed pricing data] to understand the impact of changes in electricity pricing on consumers,” an ACCC spokesperson told Lithos on 24 June.
The ACCC and AER will also consider the regulatory implications of pricing changes based on electricity-specific legislation, including the Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act, the spokesperson added.
Minister Bowen wrote to the Chairs of the ACCC and AER to request advice about increased market offer prices late last week.
Retailers plan to increase daily electricity supply charges for some customers on non-default plans ahead of 1 July, despite falling electricity procurement costs, Bowen wrote.
“I … would welcome joint advice from the AER and the [ACCC] to inform my response to changes in pricing structures,” he added.
Australian electricity prices rose by 21% on the year in May, down slightly from 23% in April, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show. Electricity was the largest contributor to Australia’s annual goods inflation rate of 4.2% in May, according to the ABS.
Australian East Coast households on default electricity plans will face lower electricity prices in the 2026-27 fiscal year because of price caps set by the AER and the Victorian Essential Services Commission.
Around 63% of Australian households were on electricity plans that are at least as cheap as default plans in 2025, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. But all retailers are required to offer customers default plans.
Electricity wholesale and environmental regulatory costs are expected to fall in every region regulated by AER and VESC, according to the two bodies. Electricity prices are set to decline because of increased wind generation and battery storage, while environmental regulatory costs may dip as a result of low environmental credit prices.
Many electricity retailers need to buy Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) – equivalent to 1MWh of renewable generation – from utilities to meet legal climate obligations.
But LGC spot prices have collapsed over the last year because of increased renewable supply. They traded at A$2.90 on 31 March 2026, down from A$22.50 a year earlier, according to Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER).
By Avinash Govind