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Electricity prices in the Ausgrid area
Ausgrid looks after the poles and wires in Sydney's east, north and inner west, the Central Coast and the Hunter. Here's what a household pays for a year there: the Default Market Offer, and every single-rate plan retailers publish, all priced at the same 3,900 kWh.
The default offer
$1,899
A year, for 3,900 kWh, from 1 July 2026. That's $66 less than last year. It's the most a retailer can charge you on a standing offer.
A typical plan
$1,709
That's $190 a year less than the default offer. 84% of 122 plans from 22 retailers cost less than the default offer. The lowest is $1,370.
What every plan costs
Same usage, same area, from $1,370 to $2,491 a year. That's a gap of $1,121 for the same electricity.
Coloured bars are plans that cost less than the default offer of $1,899. 12 plans also offer a discount if you pay on time or by direct debit. We haven't counted it, so they could cost less.
On a time-of-use plan?
Time-of-use plans charge more at busy times, like late afternoon, and less overnight or in the middle of the day. The default offer for one here is $1,893 a year. A typical time-of-use plan is $1,703, and 93% of 153 plans cost less than the default.
Priced with the regulator's own pattern of when a typical household here uses power through the day. If you use more at peak times, you'll pay more than this; if you can move your use to cheaper times, less.
Got a controlled load?
A controlled load is a separate meter for something like an electric hot water system, which only gets power at set times, often overnight, at a lower rate. With one, a typical household here uses 2,000 kWh a year on it, on top of 3,900 kWh for everything else. The default offer for both is $2,302 a year. A typical plan with a controlled load is $2,075, and 88% of 236 plans cost less than the default.
Priced on the plan's flat rate plus its "Controlled Load 1" tariff, the way the regulator works out the default offer.
Never switched? Check your plan
If you moved in and never picked a plan, or haven't changed in years, you may be on a standing offer. A typical standing offer here costs $1,899 a year. Moving to a typical market plan would save about $190 a year, and up to $529 on the lowest-priced plan.
- Look at your bill. It must say how your price compares with the DMO: for example, "5% less than the reference price". Higher than the default offer means you could do better.
- Compare for free on Energy Made Easy. It's the government's own site, with no commissions. Have your bill handy so it can use your real usage.
- Check again each July. That's when the default offer and most prices change.
Look further
Plans priced at 3,900 kWh a year, including GST and guaranteed discounts, not conditional ones. The main figures are single-rate plans; time-of-use plans and plans with a controlled load are priced separately above. Plans with demand charges aren't priced. Plans as at 16 October 2026. General information, not advice.
Sources: Default Market Offer 2026–27: © Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Energy Regulator), CC BY 4.0; Plans: each retailer's Energy Product Reference Data (Consumer Data Right), via the AER.