January 16, 2025

Our new report, Consumer knowledge of electricity pricing and responsiveness to price signals, shows how consumers are responding to dynamic pricing structures, like time of use and demand tariffs. It is the second release from our recent Consumer Energy Report Card survey.

The report finds:

• Most households (54%) said they just wanted a simple and reliable electricity service at a good price.
• Of the consumers we surveyed on time-of-use or demand tariffs who said they were changing when they used their appliances, relatively few were adjusting their usage of large loads such as heating, cooling, or water heating.
• Lower income households were more likely to say they were changing when they used air conditioning or heating, which may be a worrying finding, given that Australian homes are generally poorly insulated, and maintaining a comfortable internal temperature is very important for health.
• A large group of households (46%) were interested in having greater choice, control, or flexibility over how they use and manage their energy consumption. These households were more likely to be higher income homeowner households with existing solar systems.

Key Insights

Few households on time-of-use or demand tariffs said they’re being flexible with heating and cooling and hot water heating to save money.

Instead, households were more likely to say they were shifting when they use washing machines and dishwashers. This is likely because some households can more easily change when these appliances are run.

On average, these two appliances would likely account for no more than 10% of home energy use. This indicates the financial benefits of time-of-use tariffs are likely modest for many households.

Rate at which households change appliance use to save money

Lower income households were more likely to say they were changing when they used heating and cooling to save money. This is potentially worrying, given the importance of keeping homes at a comfortable temperature for health benefits.

Extent to which households on time-of-use or demand tariffs are regularly changing when they use appliances to save money in different income levels

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Our Consumer Energy Report Card is a comprehensive, independent research project, which reveals the attitudes and behaviours of thousands of Australian households and small businesses. Future reports in the series will provide in-depth analyses of key topics. Access all reports and related data here.

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Looking for our Energy Consumer Sentiment and Behaviour Surveys? You can find prior reports and data up until June 2024 here.

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