How to lower your power bill

Use Energy Made Easy, run by the Australian Energy Regulator, or Victorian Energy Compare if you are in Victoria. Both are government-run, list every offer available at your address, and take no commission — unlike commercial comparison sites, which are paid by retailers and do not necessarily show every plan.

Get your usage figures first. Your bill shows your consumption in kilowatt hours, and entering real usage rather than an estimate is what makes the comparison meaningful. Better still, download your usage data from your retailer or through your smart meter and upload it — the sites accept it and the result is precise.

Compare on estimated annual cost, not on the headline discount percentage. A large discount off a high rate frequently beats nothing off a low one, and frequently does not.

Check the daily supply charge as well as the usage rate. On low-consumption households the supply charge can dominate the bill entirely, so the cheapest usage rate is not always the cheapest plan.

Note the benefit period. Many market offers have a discount that expires after twelve months, after which you roll onto a worse rate. Diarise it when you sign up.

Check for exit fees, credit card surcharges and pay-on-time conditions where a discount is conditional on paying by the due date — a missed payment can cost more than the discount is worth.

Switching is free, takes effect from your next meter read or shortly after, and there is no interruption to supply. The wires and the poles do not change; only who bills you does.

Retailers are required to tell you, on your bill, whether they have a cheaper plan available for a customer with your usage pattern. This is the Better Offer message, and it is one of the most valuable pieces of regulated disclosure in Australian consumer policy — and it is routinely ignored because it appears in small print on a document nobody reads closely.

If your bill says a better offer is available, ring the retailer and ask to be moved to it. They will usually do it on the phone. Moving to a better plan with your existing retailer is faster than switching and requires no new account.

Your bill also shows your average daily usage and often a comparison with similar households, which tells you whether your problem is your rate or your consumption. Those are different problems with different fixes.

Check whether you are on the default offer — the Default Market Offer, or Victorian Default Offer in Victoria. It is a regulated price cap that acts as a safety net, and market offers are usually cheaper than it, so being on it is a sign you have not switched in a long time.

Check your concession is applied. State and territory concessions for pensioners, health care card holders, veterans and some others are substantial, and they are not applied automatically — you must give the retailer your card details. Take-up is well below eligibility.

Check for a family or medical energy rebate if someone in the household needs medically essential equipment. These exist in most states and are separately under-claimed.

Check whether you have solar and are on an appropriate feed-in tariff, and whether the plan's usage rate is eating the feed-in benefit.

Heating and cooling dominate most Australian household electricity use. Setting the thermostat a degree or two closer to outside temperature, using zoning, and sealing draughts around doors and windows costs little and reduces the largest line item.

Hot water is generally the next largest. Shorter showers, a water-efficient showerhead and a lower thermostat setting on the tank all help, and where you have a controlled-load or off-peak tariff for hot water, keeping it on that tariff matters.

Standby power and old appliances matter less than they used to but are not nothing. The largest wins are an old second fridge running in a garage, and pool pumps running longer than they need to.

Time-of-use tariffs reward shifting consumption to off-peak periods — running the dishwasher and washing machine overnight rather than at 6pm. Whether you are on such a tariff is on your bill, and whether it suits you depends on when you actually use power.

Solar changes the arithmetic entirely: with solar, running appliances in the middle of the day uses your own generation rather than exporting it at a low feed-in rate.

Government rebates for solar, batteries, insulation, hot water systems and efficient appliances exist federally and in every state, and change frequently. The Energy.gov.au rebates finder lists what is currently available where you live.

Free or subsidised home energy assessments are offered in several states, and they identify the specific things worth doing in your specific house — which is more useful than any general list.

Call the retailer before the due date, not after a disconnection warning. Retailers are required by the energy rules to have a hardship program, and the assistance available to someone who engages early is consistently better.

Ask specifically for the hardship program by name. It is a defined regulatory obligation with entitlements attached, not a discretionary favour, and it is distinct from a simple payment extension.

Once you are on a hardship program and meeting an agreed payment plan, the retailer cannot disconnect you for non-payment. That protection is the single most important thing about it.

Ask about payment plans, bill smoothing, and whether you are on the cheapest available plan — retailers are required to consider moving hardship customers to a better offer.

Apply for your state's Energy Account Payment Assistance scheme or equivalent utility relief grant. These pay a substantial amount directly off the bill for households in temporary crisis, are administered through the retailer or a community agency, and are substantially under-claimed.

Free financial counselling is available through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007. Counsellors deal with energy retailers constantly, know exactly what to ask for, and the service is free and independent.

If the retailer refuses hardship assistance, disconnects you improperly, or will not engage, complain to your state or territory energy ombudsman. It is free, independent, and its decisions bind the retailer. Disconnection while an ombudsman complaint is open is generally prohibited.