Australia's competition watchdog and the Australian Energy Regulator are now examining how retailers set charges following the latest Default Market Offer update. The Default Market Offer is the regulated benchmark price for electricity, covering households and small businesses in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.
Regulators use the Default Market Offer as a reference point for standing offers and many customers use it as a guide to compare market deals. Retailers insist they have simply adjusted their offers in line with a quiet but significant change in how the regulator applies that benchmark.
Industry figures say attention from politicians is aimed at chasing a headline, not the underlying mechanics of the new Default Market Offer. According to retailers, the Australian Energy Regulator altered the way the benchmark is adopted this year, which flows through differently to fixed daily fees and usage charges.
Some retailers responded by lifting daily supply charges while trimming or not fully passing through cuts in per kilowatt hour rates. That structure can make bills look higher at a glance, even when overall benchmark prices on paper appear to be falling.
Energy sector executives argue the government's push for tougher scrutiny is an attempt to turn a complex regulatory shift into a simple political narrative. They say the Default Market Offer change highlights how sensitive power bills are to technical decisions by regulators, not just to wholesale prices or retailer behaviour.
The clash shows growing tension between policymakers, regulators and retailers over who should carry the blame for stubbornly high energy costs across the eastern states.
