AGL Energy

Fact Checked

Integrated energy company AGL is one of Australia’s oldest companies, originally established as the ‘Australian Gas Light Company’ to bring power to Sydney in 1837 – hence the AGL acronym. It’s now one of the biggest electricity and gas retailers in the country, with millions of customers. In this review, Canstar Blue will examine AGL’s electricity plans, rates and incentives, showing what you can expect to pay if you sign up.

AGL Energy Prices

We outline AGL’s electricity prices to give you an insight into what you’ll actually pay in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Please click on your state below to see relevant plan pricing.

AGL Solar

AGL ended its residential solar installation service in 2018. However, the retailer says it continues to help customers get started with solar and battery storage through third-party partners. While all AGL market offers come with a solar feed-in tariff (FiT), the retailer reserves its most generous solar rebates to those who sign up to one of its solar-specific plans, which typically come with higher usage charges.

Residential customers in Queensland, NSW and South Australia who already have solar can sign up to AGL’s Solar Savers deal. This plan rewards solar customers with a feed in tariff of between 15c/kWh and 17c/kWh. Better yet, you’re not locked in with this contract, so there’s little risk if you give this deal a try and decide it’s not for you. You can read our full review of AGL solar here.

AGL Solar Feed-in Tariffs

As mentioned above, customers can expect higher FiTs on AGL’s solar-specific deals. AGL also offers a smaller feed-in tariff on its non-solar products, which vary between 6c/kWh and 10.2c/kWh, depending on the state. For standard AGL plans, here are the FiTs on offer:

• NSW: 7c/kWh
• VIC: 10.2c/kWh
• QLD: 6c/kWh
• SA: 8c/kWh

AGL Energy Plans

AGL offers a concise range of residential energy plans to suit varying preferences, with prospective customers able to sign up online or by calling the AGL customer service line. Currently, AGL has a range of fixed and variable rate plans with a number of extra value-add incentives. The main plans are:

AGL Essentials

As the name suggests, AGL Essentials is a fixed rate plan with no flashy discounts or exit fees. The Essentials plan comes with competitive usage and supply rates for 12 months, and also has no exit fees. You’ll also get access to AGL Rewards. This plan is currently only available in South Australia.

Essentials Plus

Available in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, Essentials Plus is AGL’s newest market offer that offers fixed rates for two years. The real value in this plan is its ongoing bill credit which is applied every quarter over the two year benefit period.

Essentials Saver

The AGL Essentials Saver is one of the retailer’s SA offerings, working out to be similar to the plan above – just without the fixed rates. It has no exit fees or lock-in contracts.

Basics

AGL Basics is the retailer’s bare-bones product, offering variable rates instead of fixed rates. Like the Essentials Plus, this plan is only available in NSW, VIC and QLD. It also features an ongoing bill credit applied each quarter for one year.

AGL Seniors

Two low rate energy plans are on offer for concession card holders in VIC, NSW and QLD. One plan comes with fixed usage and supply rates for 24 months, while the other comes with variable rates. Both AGL Seniors plans give eligible customers bill credits rather than discounts when signing up. Depending on which state you live in, these credits will vary.

AGL Electric Vehicle Plan

The AGL Electric Vehicle Plan is the retailer’s dedicated EV plan, although unlike other EV plans, it doesn’t rely on a dedicated circuit. Customers will receive up to $240 in bonus credits a year. This is a fixed rate plan with monthly e-billing.

Where does AGL Energy operate?

If you’re wondering what services AGL is offering in your state, look no further than the table below. We summarise what you can expect to find if you’re thinking about switching to AGL in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT and WA.

AGL Electricity Rates

AGL is generally a competitively-priced retailer, often with great conditional incentives like bill credits. Incentives aside, customers should also look out for other features of energy plans, such as competitive usage and supply rates. Be sure to pay close attention to which plans are available in your area because the cheapest product in one state may not be the best bet in another state.

To offer a guide as to where AGL sits among the cheapest energy companies in your state, Canstar Blue regularly compares electricity plans to show what households can expect to pay. The following annual costs for AGL are based on single rate tariffs and average energy consumption figures for households in each state. We show plans that are currently publicly available.

AGL Electricity Rates Victoria

In the table below, we show AGL prices on the Citipower network in Melbourne. Plans are listed from the lowest priced estimate first. See here for information on the VDO, which in this comparison assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year, meaning the VDO is $1,270/year. Use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area.

~Price assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Estimated price includes any conditions discounts that may be available. Pricing based on Citipower network in Melbourne, but prices will differ between distribution areas. April 2021.

See our Victorian electricity price report to see how AGL compares to other retailers in the state.

AGL Electricity Rates NSW

In the table below, we show AGL prices on the Ausgrid network in Sydney. Plans are listed from the lowest priced estimate first. See here for information on the AER Reference Price, which in this comparison assumes general energy usage of 3900kWh/year, meaning the Reference Price is $1,462/year. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area.

*Price assumes general energy usage of 3900kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Estimated price includes any conditions discounts that may be available. Pricing based on Ausgrid network in Sydney, but prices differ between distribution areas. April 2021.

Before switching to AGL, see how the retailer compares to other power providers in NSW with our state price comparison report.

AGL Electricity Rates QLD

In the table below, we show AGL prices on the Energex network in Brisbane. Plans are listed from the lowest priced estimate first. See here for information on the AER Reference Price, which in this comparison assumes general energy usage of 4600kWh/year, meaning the Reference Price is $1,508/year. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area.

*Price assumes general energy usage of 4600Wh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Estimated price includes any conditional discounts that may be available. Pricing based on Energex network in Brisbane, but prices will differ between distribution areas. April 2021.

How does AGL compare to other retailers in Queensland? See our QLD price comparison page.

AGL Electricity Rates SA

In the table below, we show AGL prices on the SA Power network in Adelaide. Plans are listed from the lowest priced estimate first. See here for information on the AER Reference Price, which in this comparison assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year, meaning the Reference Price is $1,832/year. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area.

*Price assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Estimated price includes any conditions discounts that may be available. Pricing based on SA Power network in Adelaide, but prices differ between distribution areas. April 2021.

How does AGL stack up in South Australia? Find out with our SA price comparison report.

AGL Natural Gas

As the ‘Australian Gas Lighting’ company, AGL sells natural gas across the country, offering a suite of different products with competitive rates. These gas plans tend to mirror AGL’s electricity deals in terms of incentives. AGL’s residential gas plans include:

• AGL Essentials Saver
• AGL Essentials
• AGL Essentials Plus
• AGL Basics

AGL Gas WA

In Western Australia, AGL offers two natural gas plans for customers – AGL Savers and AGL Set & Forget.

• AGL Savers: AGL Savers is a variable rate gas plan with a generous 45% pay on time discount off gas usage and supply charges.
• AGL Set & Forget: This variable rate product features a 46% discount off usage and supply charges if bills are paid via direct debit.

AGL GreenPower

Customers additionally have the choice of adding one of AGL’s green products to their electricity plan, with AGL sourcing power equal to 10, 20 or 100 per cent of the customer’s entire household electricity consumption from renewable energy sources, approved under the GreenPower voluntary government accredited program.

AGL Rewards

AGL customers can join the AGL Rewards program, comprising special offers, discounts and benefits at over 1,600 participating businesses nationally, including discounts on a range of popular gift cards, as well as discounted movie tickets, up to 50% off at selected restaurants, discounted travel and accommodation, and reduced prices for certain attractions and theme parks.

AGL also provides its customers the opportunity to collect flybuys shopping rewards program points via a number of different offers. However, this promotion has ended to new customers and is only available to those who linked their flybuys membership with their AGL account before 31 March 2021.

AGL Billing

In terms of invoice payments, AGL offers a range of options, with customers able to pay via the AGL website by either credit card or PayPal, by direct debit, BPay, Post Billpay, or in person at Australia Post offices, via post by cheque or money order.

AGL’s Bill Smoothing provides for the estimated total cost of a customer’s energy bills for the next year to be spread across equal monthly or fortnightly instalments, with weekly instalments also potentially available for direct debit customers.

Additional reading:

• What is the average AGL electricity bill?

AGL Online Tools

AGL provides a variety of tools for account management, with AGL Energy Online allowing customers to view and monitor their energy usage and bill details, receive bills via email, update personal details and organise a home or small business move. Customers can also manage their account via the AGL Energy app.

Is AGL right for me?

As one of Australia’s largest energy companies, AGL is well-resourced to deliver competitive rates, plenty of value-add incentives, and quality service to its customers. While AGL is usually not the cheapest provider, it is one of few energy retailers with a rewards program and 24/7 phone support, which may provide additional ‘value’ depending on what kind of retailer you’re looking for. If you want to remain with AGL long-term, you may need to make the occasional phone call to ensure you’re still getting its cheapest offer.

AGL can probably be considered a safe bet for anyone wanting a reliable and well-rounded energy service, however, you will probably need to shop around if you’re looking for the cheapest electricity deal possible.

About the author of this page

This page was written and is regularly updated by Canstar Blue’s Energy Editor, Jared Mullane. He’s an expert in all things utilities, including electricity, gas and water, helping to make complicated subjects easier to understand for consumers. A trained journalist, Jared is usually one of the first to break energy-related news, whether it’s the latest changes in the industry, price movements, or the next best deal you need to know about.

How do customers rate AGL?

Electricity customers in South Australia gave AGL 3 out of 5 stars for overall satisfaction in our customer ratings report.

Click here to view how AGL was rated in our New South Wales electricity provider ratings.
Click here to view how AGL was rated in our Queensland electricity provider ratings.
Click here to view how AGL was rated in our Victorian electricity provider ratings.