Power bills rising? How EnergySorted helps you pay less

Why your bill feels like it keeps going up

If your power bill feels higher this year, you are not imagining it, even though some headlines say prices fell. Several things are pushing in the same direction at once.

The federal Energy Bill Relief Fund, which put a credit straight onto every household bill, ended on 31 December 2025. Nothing replaced it nationally, so a bill this year is compared against one that had a credit on it (see where the energy rebate went). Many plans moved cost into the daily supply charge on 1 July 2026, which hits low-usage households hardest (see why supply charges went up). And some regions simply went up: Tasmania’s regulated prices rose by an average of 4.23 per cent, and South Australia’s Default Market Offer rose 1.4 per cent.

Wholesale power has been getting cheaper, helped by rooftop solar and batteries. But your retail bill is mostly network, retail and scheme costs, and it moves once a year rather than with the wholesale market. See why falling wholesale prices did not reach your bill.

When prices move next

Regulated benchmarks reset every 1 July. The Australian Energy Regulator publishes a draft Default Market Offer in the first part of the year (the 2026-27 draft came out on 19 March 2026) and a final decision before the new prices start. Victoria, Queensland’s regions and Tasmania set their own on a similar timetable.

Retailers can also change the prices on a market offer at other times, as long as they notify you first. A price change notice is the single most important letter your retailer sends you, and the one most people file without reading.

You cannot stop a price rise. What you can do is make sure you are not paying more than the cheapest plan available to you, every time prices move.

What EnergySorted does for you

Costs the whole market on your real bill

Upload a bill and we read your usage, tariff, supply charge and solar export, then cost every plan available at your address and rank them by what you would actually pay in a year. Not a typical household: yours.

Reads your price change notice

When your retailer writes to say prices are changing, upload the notice. We read the new rates, work out what they will cost you on your own usage, and show you the plans that still beat them.

Watches the market so you do not have to

We re-cost your plan against the market every night. When a cheaper plan appears for your usage, we tell you, with the saving in dollars.

Ranks on the price you will actually pay

Conditional discounts, such as pay-on-time discounts, are not used to rank plans, and plans you cannot join (wrong meter, no solar, membership-only) are filtered out. The plan at the top is one you can actually get, at the price you will actually pay.

Finds money you are already entitled to

State concessions and rebates are rarely automatic. Our rebate and concession finder shows what applies in your state and how to claim it.

Covers gas too

Upload a gas bill and we do the same for gas plans in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.

Helps you use less at the dear times

If you are on a time-of-use plan, we show the cheapest times to run the dishwasher, washing machine or EV on your own plan, and whether a free midday window or a battery would actually pay off for you.

Why we can be trusted with the answer

EnergySorted does not take referral fees or commissions from energy companies. You pay us, about $39 a year after a 30-day free trial, so our ranking has no reason to favour anyone. If your current plan is already the cheapest available to you, we tell you that and suggest you stay.

We are also deliberately conservative. Where we cannot know something from your bill, such as how much of your usage falls inside a free midday window, we do not guess in a plan’s favour. We would rather show a smaller saving that arrives than a bigger one that does not.

Five things to do before the next price change

1. Upload your latest bill and see where your current plan ranks against every plan at your address.
2. If a cheaper plan is available, switch. It takes minutes, your power never goes off, and there is a cooling-off period. See how to switch.
3. Register any concession card with your retailer, and check the rebate finder for anything else you can claim.
4. Keep every price change notice. When one arrives, upload it and see what it will cost you before it takes effect.
5. If you are struggling to pay, ask your retailer about hardship assistance early. See what to do if you cannot afford your bill.