With big price increases ahead many retailers are closing the door to new customers until further notice. In under a month, the number of power providers with market offers has halved. As of 17th Mar 2023, over twenty-five electricity retailers have removed their market offers in NSW and QLD.
Half of all electricity retailers ditch market offers
The list of electricity retailers that have removed market offers from their websites (and/or Energy Made Easy) includes;
- 1st Energy – removed for QLD & SA (plans available in NSW and VIC)
- Arc Energy Group
- Blue NRG – removed for SA (business plans available in NSW, QLD & VIC)
- Bright Spark Power – surrendered retailer authorisation on 16th Nov 2022
- Brighte Energy
- Circular Energy – removed for NSW & QLD (plans available in SA & VIC)
- Dodo – removed for QLD & SA only (plans available in NSW and VIC)
- Discover Energy
- Electricity in a Box
- Elysian Energy – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Enova Energy – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Future X Power
- GEE Energy
- Glow Power
- Locality Planning Energy
- Mojo Power
- Next Business Energy – removed for QLD (business plans available in NSW, SA and VIC)
- On by EnergyAustralia – solar/battery packages only
- People Energy – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Pooled Energy – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Powerclub – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Powerdirect – customers transferred to AGL from 15th October 2022
- QEnergy
- Radian Energy
- ReAmped Energy
- Smart Energy
- Smartest Energy
- Social Energy – customers transferred to Retailer of Last Resort
- Tango Energy – removed for NSW & QLD (plans available in VIC)
On pause for new customers
We believe that the majority of the retailers listed above will have hedged sufficiently for their existing customers. However it doesn’t mean that they were hedged to absorb a large number of new customers. Particularly as a number of retailers have recently asked their customers to leave. With significant price increases on the way, many are saying that they want to release their new rates first, before taking on extra customers. This will avoid any surprises for new joiners. So these retailers have put their offers on pause – hoping the market stabilises in the meantime.
So who can I switch to?
There are still many retailers who have market offers and are taking on new residential customers. As of 17th March 2023 this includes:
- 1st Energy (NSW and VIC only)
- ActewAGL (ACT & limited NSW postcodes)
- AGL
- Alinta Energy
- Amber
- Arcline by RACV (Energy Locals white-label)
- Aurora Energy (Tasmania)
- Blue NRG (NSW, QLD & VIC business only)
- Circular Energy (SA & VIC only)
- CovaU
- Diamond Energy
- Dodo (NSW & VIC only)
- EnergyAustralia
- Energy Locals
- GloBird Energy
- Indigo Power (Energy Locals white-label)
- iO Energy (Energy Locals white-label)
- Kogan Energy (Powershop white-label)
- Lumo Energy
- Momentum Energy
- Members Energy (Energy Locals white-label)
- Nectr
- Next Business Energy (NSW, SA and VIC only)
- Origin Energy
- OVO Energy
- Powershop
- Powow Power
- Red Energy
- Simply Energy
- Sonnen (Energy Locals white label)
- Sumo
- Tango Energy (Victoria only)
- Zen Energy
It’s now a waiting game to see which retailers will offer plans and at what rates. Until then there will be a significant drop in competition in the retail market. The large gentailers (retailers with generation assets) should be well-positioned to move to the top of the plan rankings and win customers. Even though their rates are higher than consumers have been accustomed to over the last 2-3 years. This is already happening.
And don’t expect any new retailers to launch in the next 6 months offering grid only electricity as it will almost certainly be impossible to purchase electricity in any wholesale market (spot or futures) that will allow them to offer customers the 2022-23 Default Market Offer or Victorian Default Offer. The only viable option for new retailers would be to offer solar, battery & grid packages which can be priced below the DMO/VDO due to the fact that the sun is free, unlike coal and gas.
