Energy Consumers Australia welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER)'s Draft Determination on the Default Market Offer (DMO) Prices for 2025-26.
Consumers continue to face unprecedented pressures from high energy costs and broader cost-of-living issues. This was recognised in the most recent Commonwealth budget announcement which pledged additional energy bill support for households and small businesses.
Consumer protection tools such as the DMO are even more important given this context, and it is vital the AER employs all measures available to ensure consumers are not paying unreasonable prices.
Unfortunately, we believe the AER has not prioritised the need to protect consumers in the Draft Determination, and it must reconsider how consumer interests can be centred in this determination.
The DMO’s functions as the reference price and the price cap on standing offers are becoming increasingly ineffective and complicated in an evolving energy market.
There is a need to review whether the DMO is achieving the objectives set out in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)'s original Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry (REPI) and determine where greater support is needed for consumers, particularly those who are unwilling or unable to engage with retail electricity markets.
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