The amount of electricity that homes consume from the grid is changing as technology and household behaviour evolve.
This report (PDF, 415.54KB) provides insight into the variability and drivers of how much electricity a household purchases from the grid. It analyses smart meter data for more than 1.1 million Queensland households (around half of households in the state) linked to demographic factors like type of home, solar ownership, and climate zone.
Key findings
- There is no "typical" household. Household grid electricity use is very diverse.
- While many households will increasingly be able to influence how much electricity they consume from the grid, a substantial portion of grid use will continue to be shaped by factors outside an individual household’s control. These include the climate in which a household is located and whether the household rents, limiting agency over some of the largest drivers of electricity use.
- Vulnerability can be associated with both higher and lower grid electricity use. For example, households living in areas of low socioeconomic advantage were found to have lower-than-typical grid use on average, whereas households with life support requirements had slightly higher-than-typical grid use.
Policy implications
Analysis based on average consumption or the “typical” household is misleading. Monitoring prices alone does not give a full picture of the bill outcomes households ultimately face.
This diversity in household electricity use has important implications for energy policy. It highlights the limits of relying on pricing structures alone to deliver equitable outcomes.
While pricing design remains important, it is unlikely to be a precise tool for targeting equity, given the wide variation in household circumstances and the role of factors outside household control.
Policymakers will therefore need to take a more considered and holistic approach to ensure the energy system remains equitable and does not place an unfair burden on vulnerable households.
This data was collected as part of a Collaboration Grant with The University of Queensland, funded by Energy Consumers Australia’s Grants Program. Deidentified smart meter data was provided by Energy Queensland.
For further information on the methodology used for the University of Queensland project, visit UQ's website here. Please cite their work as:
Dolnicar, S., Grün, B., Layeghy, S., Portmann, M., Serati, R., & Zinn, A. (2026) Queensland energy market insights: Empirical findings from the collaborative research project between Energy Consumers Australia, Energy Queensland, and The University of Queensland. Brisbane: The University of Queensland. https://uq.pressbooks.pub/energy-insights/. DOI: 10.14264/6ec48f8
