Residential tariffs
Confused about electricity tariffs? Considering changing tariffs? Have you recently moved to, or will soon be moved to, a demand or time of use (TOU) based tariff?
The information below will help explain how electricity tariffs are developed, how and why tariffs are changing, and what it means for you.
The electricity industry components
To understand about how electricity tariffs are developed, and prices set, it’s important to understand the key components of the electricity industry. The electricity industry is made up of four main types of organisations, all with important roles:
- Electricity generators – where power is produced (including large and small generators, fossil fuel and renewable sources like solar and wind)
- Electricity transmission network – the high voltage power lines that bring power from the electricity generators to the local distribution network
- Distribution network operators – the local electricity networks
- Electricity retailers – those that sell power to you and provide your power bill.
Your electricity bill components
As a residential consumer, you will have an electricity account from an electricity retailer, who sends you an electricity bill based on your consumption of electricity under the tariff. For most residential customers, electricity bills are made up of three main components:
- Network charges – these are the charges we provide to your electricity retailer to cover the cost of building, maintaining and operating the poles and wires and other infrastructure to safely supply your homes and business. We typically charge your retailer both a fixed fee and a consumption fee that may change depending on when/how you choose to use our electricity network. On your bill, the fixed fee may be shown separately as “supply charge” or “service charge” – these charges are normally a fixed rate per day. The network consumption-based fees are typically included with other consumption based retail fees, into a single consumption charge, per kilowatt hour (kWh), and per kilowatt (kW) if you are on a demand-based tariff.
- Retail charges – these are the costs associated with purchasing electricity from electricity generators and other related costs of having an electricity account. These are consumption-based charges1 with the more electricity you use, the more you pay, based on the structure of your retail tariff.
- Metering charges – these are the costs associated supplying and maintaining the necessary metering hardware in your premises. Some retailers have this as a separate line item on your bill, others incorporate metering costs in your retail charges.
We are required by the Australian Energy Regulator to review our network tariffs every five years and update the prices of those network tariffs every 12 months. We pass our distribution network costs on to your electricity retailer in the form of network tariffs, which make up a portion of your electricity tariff that is set by your electricity retailer. The role of the electricity retailer is to incorporate our network tariffs into the retail tariffs they offer to you.
There are changes happening to how electricity is being charged by electricity networks and electricity retailers. To help you manage your home’s energy costs, it's important to understand the features of the various tariff options. You should also ask your electricity retailer which tariffs are available to you, and see if they can help to use your energy usage profile to estimate the best tariff option for your home.
Read on to learn more about the key features of the residential network tariffs.
Residential network tariffs are changing
The way that network tariffs are structured is changing. In the past, most tariffs featured a fixed daily charge plus a variable cost based on how many kWh of electricity was consumed during the billing period, regardless of what time of day the consumption took place.
As there are times when our electricity network is used more heavily (peak times) and times when its underutilised and/or where there is a large amount of excess solar energy being fed into grid from rooftop solar (off-peak times), this approach to charging doesn’t reflect the cost of generating or supplying electricity.
New time variable demand and consumption tariffs
To help better manage our electricity network and avoid the need to build more network capacity for peak times, tariffs that encourage you to use less power in peak times, and more power in off-peak times have been developed.
Here's a general description of these new time of use (TOU) tariffs, applicable from 1 July 2025:
- TOU energy tariffs (Default tariff) – as the name suggests, these tariffs have charges based on when electricity is used throughout the day, with higher rates for peak times and lower rates for off-peak and shoulder times. For example, TOU periods for electricity consumption could include a peak period (4pm – 9pm), a daytime off-peak period (11am – 4pm) and shoulder period (9pm – 11am).
- TOU demand and energy tariffs (Optional tariff) – these tariffs feature two types of variable elements:
- Demand charge which is based on the amount of electricity demand (measured in kW) placed on our electricity network. The demand charge is usually the single highest demand that occurred during the peak demand charging ‘window’ (for example 4pm – 9pm weekdays and weekends); and
- Consumption charges which are based on the amount of electricity consumed (measured in kWh). Electricity consumption is charged at different rates when electricity is consumed throughout the day. (for example an evening peak period (4pm – 9pm), a daytime off-peak period (11am – 4pm) and a shoulder period (9pm – 11am).
- Electricity demand considers the rate of electricity consumption in a particular time period, usually measured in 30-minute intervals. Whereas electricity consumption is simply the total amount of electricity used. A good analogy to understand the difference between consumption and demand is taking a trip in your car. The total distance you travelled (km) would be the consumption (kWh); the highest speed (km/h) at which you travelled is equivalent to demand (kW).
- Thinking about this more, think about the example of two households – they both consume say 24 kWh of electricity per day. Household 1 uses a constant amount of electricity throughout the whole day. However, household 2 only uses a small amount of electricity during most of the day, but in the evening (4pm – 9pm) turns on a number of appliances and therefore uses a lot of their total 24kWhs consumption in that shorter period. Because household 2 uses a lot of electricity during that 4pm – 9pm period, that will mean that household 2 will have a high maximum demand recorded on that day.
- Your meter calculates electricity demand as an average across a 30-minute interval, not the single highest instantaneous demand during those 30 minutes. A simple way to calculate demand over a 30-minute period is to multiply the kWh consumption by two. For example, if all your appliances in your home used say 1.5kWh in 30-minute period, the demand would be calculated as 2 X 1.5kWh = 3kW.
You can view our animations below to find out more about TOU energy and TOU demand tariffs.
Demand tariffs explained
Skip to descriptionIn the past, most customers have been billed for electricity on a flat rate tariff, where they are charged the same rate for electricity consumption throughout the day.
If you have a new smart meter in your switchboard that has a communication antennae, you can switch to a time of use demand tariff, if your electricity retailer offers these types of tariffs.
Some households may be better off on a demand tariff without doing anything, while other households may be able to make a few changes to how they use appliances to reduce their electricity costs.
Demand tariffs are designed so each household only pays for its share of how much demand or how little demand it puts on the electricity network during the busiest time.
It's a bit like booking flights. If you book flights over the busy holiday season, like Christmas, you can expect to pay more than if you were to book flights during the off-peak season.
For households on a time of use demand tariff, this busy time, or peak period, is typically 4 to 9 pm each day.
On a demand Tariff, part of your electricity bill reflects how much demand, measured in kilowatts, your household puts on the network during this peak period.
To work out each customer’s demand, we look at the total kilowatt hours used in each half hour block, and convert that to half hourly demand, rather than the highest instantaneous demand, between 4pm and 9pm each day.
The highest reading over the month will be used to calculate the monthly demand charge.
So, the more appliances you run during the same half hour block between 4pm and 9pm each day, the higher your demand charge will be.
That's where you can make a difference. It's called load shifting.
By changing the time of day you use some appliances, and using them less during the peak period, your household could have a lower demand charge and lower electricity bills.
Think about shifting when you run appliances that you don’t need to run during the peak period, like your dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer or pool pump, and use them outside of the peak period of 4 to 9 pm.
When you need to use some appliances during the peak period, you can still reduce your demand by ‘staggering’ when you run these appliances.
Using built in timers on your appliances, or timers you can plug into your power points, is a great way to set and forget when these appliances run.
The other part of your bill on a demand tariff is a charge based on the amount of electricity consumed, measured in kilowatt hours. With some demand tariffs the rate for consumption is the same all day, while with other demand tariffs there is a variable rate for consumption, or a higher rate during the peak period, but less during off-peak and shoulder periods – referred to as time of use energy charging.
You could reduce your consumption charges on a time of use energy tariff by running appliances outside of the peak periods. Check with your electricity retailer when those times are. For more on time of use consumption charging see our Time of use tariff video.
Once load shifting and staggering becomes a daily habit in your household, your overall electricity bill could be lower on a demand tariff.
For more on tariffs visit our websites.
Demand tariffs explained
This video explains what demand tariffs are and how adjusting your electricity usage can help you more effectively manage your power bill with a demand tariff.
Time of Use Tariffs
Skip to descriptionIn the past, most customers were billed for electricity on a flat rate tariff where they are charged the same rate for electricity used throughout the day.
If you have a new smart meter in your switchboard that has a communication antenna, you may be able to switch to a time of use electricity tariff.
Some households may be better off on a time of use electricity tariff without doing anything, while other households may be able to make a few changes to when they use appliances to reduce their electricity costs.
Time of use electricity tariffs are designed so each household only pays for how much or how little electricity they use at various times throughout the day, with higher charges for electricity used during peak times.
It's a bit like booking flights. If you book flights over the busy holiday season, like Christmas, you can expect to pay more than if you were to book flights during the off-peak season.
For households on a time of use tariff, there are usually three different charging periods. Off-peak 11am to 4pm; peak 4pm to 9pm; and shoulder 9pm to 11am the next day. These time periods could be different depending on your electricity retailer, so check the times with them.
On a time of use electricity tariff your electricity bill will show how much electricity you consumed, in kilowatt hours, in each of those periods.
For each of those periods different electricity rates apply, with the 4pm to 9pm peak period the most expensive, the off-peak 11am to 4pm period the cheapest; and the shoulder period 9pm to 11am the next day, a bit more expensive than the off-peak period. This is a general guide only and you should check with your retailer how their rates are applied over a 24-hour period.
You can save money by load shifting. By changing the time of day you use some appliances, and where possible using them less during the peak period, your household could have lower electricity bills.
Shifting appliances that use a lot of electricity away from the peak period, like your dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, or pool pump, will have the greatest impact on reducing your electricity bill. But we also suggest shifting small appliances to outside the peak period where you can.
Using built-in timers on your appliances or timers you can plug into your power points, is a great way to set and forget when these appliances run. Put a note on your fridge to remind everyone in your household when to run these appliances.
Once you get used to adjusting when you run appliances to suit a time of use tariff, you will be on your way to making on-going savings on your electricity bill.
Talk to your electricity retailer today about time of use and other tariff options.
For more on tariffs, visit our websites.
Time of use tariffs explained
This video explains how a TOU tariff works and how you could adjust your electricity usage to manage your electricity costs.
Primary and secondary tariffs
To understand what these new tariffs might mean for you, there are a few other things to understand about electricity tariffs, like primary tariff and secondary tariffs:
- Primary tariff - all households have a primary tariff, this is the main tariff for your home appliances. The TOU consumption tariffs and demand tariffs mentioned above are example of primary tariffs, as is the flat rate tariff (sometimes referred to as Tariff 11, but electricity retailers often refer to them by different names)
- Secondary tariff - an optional extra tariff that households can choose to have certain appliances* like pool pumps, hot water systems and air conditioners connected to. Secondary tariffs are sometimes referred to as economy tariffs or load controlled tariffs, because the economy or load control tariffs are cheaper than primary tariffs. Common names for these tariffs are Tariff 33, Tariff 31, Controlled Load 1, or Controlled Load 2.
* The power supply to those appliances can be interrupted for up to 8 hours per day or 16 hours per day (depending on the tariff) meaning we can turn off power to those appliances to help reduce load on our electricity network.
Talk to your electricity retailer if you would like to learn more about these tariffs.
What does this all mean for me as a residential customer?
If you are on a standard flat rate electricity tariff now, and your meter is being changed to or is already a smart meter, some electricity retailers will offer you the option at some point to move to one of the new types of electricity tariffs.
Following feedback from customers and other stakeholders, new requirements were introduced in late 2024 that require retailers to obtain explicit informed consent from customers, before they can change their tariff, during the first two years after a smart meter has been installed.
In addition, when advising customers of a proposed tariff change (before or after the two years), retailers are required to offer customers a flat rate tariff, and to advise customers that other TOU options are available that could provide savings if they are able to move electricity usage away from peak periods.
These regulations mean that all residential customers, regardless of the type of meter they have installed, have the option to be on a flat rate tariff or a TOU tariff to suit their circumstances.
To be clear – electricity retailers will continue to offer flat rate tariffs for their customers, regardless of the type of meter installed, and some retailers may choose to also offer TOU of use tariffs.
A tariff change, if it happens, would generally apply to your primary tariff only – all homes have a primary tariff, which is the main tariff used for most of your light and power circuits. If you have a secondary tariff (the tariff that may have things like hot water systems and pool pumps connected) you should be able to keep this tariff when moving to a new primary tariff (but check with your electricity retailer if they offer a secondary tariff with your primary tariff).
When might my electricity retailer move me to the new tariffs?
Installation of a smart meter is the essential trigger for when your tariff options increase beyond a flat rate. This can happen:
- when a new solar power system is installed,
- when the existing electricity meter requires replacement (due to failure), or
- when building a new home.
Older style meters that do not have this capability are referred to as ‘basic Type 6 meters’. Visit the Queensland Government's Digital meters website for more information about the requirements for electricity metering in Queensland.
A smart meter is a digital meter that has remote communications capability.
Unlike the older style meters that were often read only once every three months and provided a single figure for total electricity usage, smart meters measure electricity in very small intervals (usually every 30 minutes, sometimes every five minutes). And unlike older style meters, smart meters are read remotely each night.
This meter data is not only useful in offering tariff alternatives to customers, but it can provide useful insights into how you are using electricity throughout the day, and the amount of solar exported to the grid and used on-site.
Under the network tariff rules approved by the Australian Energy Regulator, when a residential premises has a smart meter installed, the network tariff applied to that premises can no longer be the flat rate tariff (see table below). It is not possible for the network tariff to be changed back to the flat rate tariff.
Network tariffs are paid by your electricity retailer and then passed on to you via their retail tariffs on your power bill - it is up to your retailer which retail tariffs they offer to their customers.
Tips to save on your power bills
Visit our Managing your power bill web page to read more about:
- how to access your previous electricity consumption history
- whether a demand or TOU tariff might be best suited to you
- and how you can adjust to either of these tariff types to save on your bill.
If you move to a TOU energy or TOU demand tariff, we’ve compiled some tips and hints to help you understand the ways to manage your electricity use in your home, to help you save on your power bills.
What are the residential network tariff options?
Customers are billed based on their retail tariffs and so you should always check with your retailer regarding their tariff options
We are required to publish full details on the residential and business tariffs in our network pricing guide and below is a high level summary of our residential network tariffs.
New tariffs from 1 July 2025
The below charges are valid from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 (prices are exclusive of GST).
Primary tariffs
| Network tariff | Charge type | Charges (ex GST) | How charge applies | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Flat (NTC8400) | Fixed | $0.815 / day | Daily supply charge | Only for customers with an older style basic meter - not a 'smart meter' |
| Consumption (kWh) | $0.08918 / kWh | Applied to all consumption | ||
| Residential TOU Demand & Energy (NTC3900)2 | Fixed | $0.444 / day | Daily supply charge | Customer must have a smart meter |
| Shoulder consumption | $0.04868 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of midnight to 11am, and 9pm to midnight daily | ||
| Off-peak consumption | $0.00476 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of 11am to 4pm daily | ||
| Peak consumption | $0.02367 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of 4pm to 9pm daily | ||
| Peak demand | $7.00 / kW* | Monthly charge based on highest half hourly demand between 4pm to 9pm weekdays and weekends* | ||
| Residential TOU Energy (NTC6900) | Fixed | $0.639 / day | Daily supply charge | Customer must have a smart meter |
| Shoulder consumption | $0.04868 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of midnight to 11am, and 9pm to midnight daily | ||
| Off-peak consumption | $0.00476 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of 11am to 4pm daily | ||
| Peak consumption | $0.19367 / kWh | For electricity consumption between the hours of 4pm to 9pm daily |
*Please note: Some retailers convert the monthly demand charge to a daily demand $ / kW / day by dividing the monthly cost by the average number days in each month.
Secondary tariffs
| Network tariff | Charge type | Charges (ex GST) | How charge applies | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy (NTC9100) | Consumption (kWh) | $0.025 / kWh | Applied to all consumption | Must be used in conjunction with one of the above primary tariffs, and have a basic or smart meter |
| Super Economy (TNC9000) | Consumption (kWh) | $0.025 / kWh | Applied to all consumption |
What is the Default Market Offer?
To help you compare electricity plans and find the best option for your household, the Australian Energy Regulator introduced a reference price known as the Default Market Offer (DMO).
The DMO is the maximum total annual bill that a customer on a standing offer3 should receive, if they use the average amount of electricity for their area (in South East Queensland, it’s 4,600kWh per year for premises with a single tariff; or for premises that also have a secondary or controlled load tariff (sometimes referred to as an economy tariff), 4,400kWh on the primary tariff plus 1,900kWh on the controlled load tariff).
The DMO is not a specific price that retailers charge per kWh – it’s what your total bill would be on that tariff (when consuming according to the figures stated above) and includes both the consumption charges (per kWh) and the daily/fixed charges.
Because the DMO is an average annual energy consumption figure, it’s relevance for your household may change if your consumption is a lot higher or a lot lower than the average consumption. Therefore, it’s worth checking with your electricity retailer if they can provide you with a personalised tariff comparison, using your actual energy consumption history.
The ACCC Electricity prices and plans web page has some useful information about how the DMO works - and how you can use it to compare energy plans.
Need more information on which network tariff is best for you?
We hope the above information has explained how network tariffs work and you now have a better idea of your tariff options to be able to discuss with your electricity retailer.
We understand that many consumers can find tariffs complicated – if you have more questions, you can email us at residentialtariffs@energyq.com.au and we’ll do our best to help you (feel free to include your National Metering Identifier which is found on your power bill, and your phone number if you'd like us to call you to discuss your issue). But remember that as retail electricity tariffs vary across retailers, they are the best placed to assist you with any personalised tariff advice for your premises.
For more tariff information, visit our Pricing & tariffs web page.
Footnotes
- At applicable variable rates
- This tariff was previously known as the Residential Transitional Demand tariff
- A ‘standing offer’ is given to you by default if you don’t choose an offer or negotiate a plan with your electricity retailer. For example, if you choose a plan which expires after a year, you may then rollover onto a standing offer until you choose a new plan.