Retail Tariff Tracker
Building the evidence base of the energy costs facing small and medium enterprises.
Latest resultsBackground
Increases in energy costs can adversely impact all businesses, large or small, undermining their long-term profitability and contribution to the Australian economy. Energy Consumers Australia commends the attention that has been brought to bear in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry on the unacceptable pressures facing Australian businesses and consumers as a result of the price increases over the past ten years.
Through ongoing work on the SME retail tariff tracking project Energy Consumers Australia continues to build the evidence base of the costs facing small business, particularly those that are energy intensive and are unable to pass on those costs. As in other markets, for competition to be effective the transparency of information is an important tool so that consumers can participate with confidence.
The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Retail Tariff Tracker is an ongoing project for Energy Consumers Australia. It collects data every April and October, with reports on trends published in June and December.
Key findings and all published reports can be accessed below.
Key Findings: June 2019
Small business electricity bills were lower in every jurisdiction when compared with a year earlier. The only exception was the Northern Territory where they remained largely unchanged.
Small business gas bills were higher in the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia when compared with the June 2018 results. Bills were lower in Western Australia, Queensland and NSW when compared with a year earlier.
Overall there has been a significant decrease in the “spread” between the highest and lowest market offers for electricity in the past year. The only exception to this trend was South Australia.