This report is a guide on how the electricity and gas markets are performing. It aims to help customers piece together how the energy retail market works, and what they need to do to get the best out of it.
Victorian Energy Market Report
Overview
Our latest update provides important information about the Victorian energy market from January to March 2021 on areas such as:
- the price of energy offers available in the market
- disconnections of energy customers for non-payment and energy customer debt
- newly licensed energy companies and other changes in the energy market
- how energy companies are complying and performing against their regulatory obligations (energy rules)
- recent changes to the energy rules
- our education campaign – It's your energy
- our vulnerability strategy – Getting to fair: Breaking down barriers to essential services.
Victorian Energy Market Update: June 2021
You can also read our media release about this report.
Key findings
Three in four residential electricity customers and one in two residential gas customers were not on the best offer
In March 2021, three in four residential electricity customers' bills included a message stating they were not on the best offer with their current retailer. This increased in 2021, with the introduction of cheaper electricity offers. For residential gas customers, the proportion remained similar to previous months with one in two bills including a message stating they were not on the best offers with their current retailer.
We also found that the median price of residential energy offers is three per cent lower for electricity and unchanged for gas when compared to 31 January 2021.
Victorian energy retailers continued to be held to account with the energy rules, and we issued more than one million dollars worth of penalty notices
Alinta Energy paid penalties totalling $1.125 million for allegedly placing conditions on distressed customers before providing them with help to pay their energy bills.
We also issued nine warning letters to energy businesses, including working with two retailers who failed to send best offer messages resulting in $4,876 worth of refunds to 37 customers.
Disconnections for non-payment continue in 2021
By March 2021, disconnections for non-payment were approaching similar levels to the 2019 monthly average. There were 2,034 residential electricity and 272 residential gas customers disconnected for non-payment in March 2021.
Resources
Victorian energy market report and updates in 2020-21
Victorian energy market report and updates in 2019-20
30 November 2020
Note: The table names in this excel reference the figure numbers used throughout the report and the rest are supplementary tables. This uses the most up to date information from retailers and may differ from previous reports
(xlsx, 285.98 KB)
Victorian energy market report and updates in 2018-19
Victorian energy market report and updates in 2017-18
26 February 2019
This report provides a full summary of the Victorian energy market in 2017-18.
(PDF, 7.16 MB)
29 November 2018
This snapshot report provides a short summary of the Victorian energy market in 2017-18. This report has since been superseded by the Victorian Energy Market Report 2017-18.
(pdf, 737.14 KB)
21 December 2017
This update provides information on standard contract prices of Victorian gas retailers for 2017 – 18. This includes updated prices published by retailers on 8 and 15 December 2017.
(pdf, 287.46 KB)
Victorian Energy Market Report 2016-17
Licensed energy businesses audit fact sheets 2016-17
Victorian Energy Market Report 2015-16
Victorian Energy Market Report Updates: 2016-2017
Energy retail performance reports
These reports pre-date the Victorian Energy Market Report.