Victoria’s three largest energy providers, AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin, are changing the prices of their electricity market plans from today, with increases of up to 6.8% expected.
The price changes are higher than the regulator-approved increase to market offers of 6.2% on Melbourne’s Citipower network.
How could energy bills change in Victoria?
While energy prices will vary between distributors, postcodes and household usage, research from Canstar Blue shows the price changes, as indicated by the three retailers, would increase the average annual electricity bill for Melbourne’s CitiPower network by up to $99 more per year.
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| 1 August price hikes from AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price change | Est. impact to average energy bill | ||
| AGL | +6.8% | +$99 | |
| Origin | +2.1% | +$31 | |
| EnergyAustralia | +2.3% | +$33 | |
Note: Origin changes are weighted average electricity price changes based on average annual consumption profile across all tariff types. AGL changes reflect residential and small business customers combined. Average annual electricity bill as per single-rate electricity plans listed on Cantar Blue database for Citipower network on 31 July 2025.
Some energy providers have already changed plans for their Victorian customers. Canstar Blue research shows the average annual electricity price has increased by 7% in the last month alone for a range of smaller providers including Engie, Dodo and GloBird.
As a result, the average annual electricity plan across all providers we track on the Citipower network have already risen by 7% or $94 for the average household.
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| Change to average annual electricity prices 30 June 2025 – 31 July 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2025 | 30 July 2025 | Change | |
| Average annual electricity bill | $1,362 | $1,456 | +$96 / +7% |
Source: CanstarBlue.com.au. Averages are based on all single-rate plans in the Canstar Blue database for the CitiPower network.
Price changes to continue into September
While two of the three major energy retailers, Origin and AGL, kicked off their price changing activity in July for the states of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, EnergyAustralia is only beginning its price change cycle in August.
All three major retailers are changing prices for Victoria from today, while EnergyAustralia will change prices for Queensland and South Australia in September.
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| Timing of electricity price hikes – Origin, AGL, EnergyAustralia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July | 1 August | 1 September | |
| Origin | NSW, QLD, SA | VIC, ACT | |
| AGL | NSW, QLD, SA | VIC | |
| EnergyAustralia | NSW, VIC, ACT | QLD, SA | |
Why are electricity prices increasing?
The increase in network costs, wholesale electricity costs and retail costs are the key drivers in the increase to the default market pricing for this year.
- Wholesale costs: The wholesale price of electricity has increased due to high demand, major weather events and, on occasion, coal station outages, which impact prices.
- Network costs: These are the cost of transporting energy to a home, including the cost to build and maintain the poles and wires, as well as the installation and maintenance of meters (which include smart meters). These costs form a major component of electricity prices, up to 40%, and have been impacted by extreme weather events causing damage to the grid that needs repairing.
- Retail costs: Higher retailer costs due to cost-of-living pressures have also had a significant impact. The cost to acquire customers, the cost to manage existing customers, support to customers in hardship or debt are all components in the prices we pay for electricity.
The default offers, determined by the Essential Services Commission for the 2025 – 2026 financial year, have factored in many of these impacts, although some distributors have had larger increases than others.
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| FY25-26 Victorian Default Offer price changes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Distributor | Change (compared to previous year) | ||
| AusNet | +0.3% | ||
| CitiPower | +6.2% | ||
| Jemena | -1.6% | ||
| PowerCor | +0.2% | ||
| United Energy | +1.6% | ||
What should Victorian energy customers do?
Households feeling the pinch of climbing household bills are encouraged to compare their options and switch energy plans or providers, with the potential to save up to $330 if they do so. The ability to change providers can be done online in 15 minutes, which is an easy way to get a few hundred dollars back in the budget.
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| Potential savings from switching from average annual cost electricity plan to lowest | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual cost | Lowest annual cost | Potential savings | |
| Sydney | $1,639 | $1,348 | $291 |
| Melbourne | $1,366 | $1,036 | $330 |
| Brisbane | $1,900 | $1,567 | $333 |
| Adelaide | $2,120 | $1,731 | $389 |
| Canberra | $2,192 | $1,873 | $319 |
| Hobart | $1,302 | $1,265 | $37 |
Source: www.CanstarBlue.com.au – 31/07/2024. Based on single rate electricity plans on Canstar’s database; excluding solar-only plans. One product shown per distribution network. Annual costs calculated based on the estimated lowest possible price a representative customer would be charged in a year, assuming all conditions of discount offered (if any) have been met. Representative customer based on the reference usage for NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, and SA (per Victorian default offer for VIC, ICRC for ACT, and AER for others) or the median usage in the Office of the Tasmania Regulator’s report, Typical Electricity Customers in Tasmania 2022 for TAS.
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