Business Usage Rates Comparison

Last Updated on September 17, 2025 by David Hiley

Light bulb with clock Usage Rates are the amount you pay per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity consumption. This includes lighting, powerpoints, air conditioning, machines etc.
Business electricity rates are charged one of two ways. The first is an Anytime rate where the cost is the same whether power is used day or night. The second is Time of Use (TOU) also called Flexible rate. Time of Use/Flexible plans have different rates that reflect the time when power is consumed. Peak rates apply to daytime periods where demand is higher. Off Peak rates apply to overnight when demand is low and therefore the cost is lower. Depending on your Time of Use plan, a Shoulder rate may apply to the period between Peak and Off Peak. Business premises need an interval meter that measures when power is consumed to be eligible for a Time of Use plan. Rates for controlled loads such as electric off-peak hot water systems are viewed in our business controlled load comparison.

Business electricity rates vary depending on;
1. The electricity network region you are connected to. There are 15 major electricity networks in Australia.
2. The electricity retailer who you buy power through.

Listed below are electricity retailer’s usage rates for business customers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Getting a low usage rate is important, but to ensure you find the best deal you also need to consider the cost of daily charges, controlled load rates and feed-in tariffs if you have solar. WATTever’s comprehensive electricity comparison makes it easy to get it right by including all this information for every retailer.

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WATTever compares over 40 energy retailers including AGL, 1st Energy, ActewAGL, Alinta Energy, Amber, Blue NRG, CovaU, Diamond Energy, dodo, Energy Australia, Energy Locals, ENGIE, GloBird Energy, Kogan Energy, Lumo Energy, nectr, Origin Energy, OVO energy, Powershop, Red Energy, Sumo and Tango Energy.

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Note: Usage Rates shown are per kWh and include GST and all available discounts.
“Market-linked plans” that have their rates tied directly to the wholesale market spot price are not included in the tables above because these rates vary every day and cannot be compared like-for-like with most plans where the published rate is the rate you pay. To view indicative rates and feed-in tariffs published for market-linked plans, please see WATTever’s rates page for Amber.

Banner Elec Compare all retailers and save with WATTever
Click to Compare all retailers
WATTever compares over 40 energy retailers including AGL, 1st Energy, ActewAGL, Alinta Energy, Amber, Blue NRG, CovaU, Diamond Energy, dodo, Energy Australia, Energy Locals, ENGIE, GloBird Energy, Kogan Energy, Lumo Energy, nectr, Origin Energy, OVO energy, Powershop, Red Energy, Sumo and Tango Energy.