south australian electricity retail market
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South Australia is the fourth biggest electricity market in Australia, after NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The state has approximately 700,000 residential customers and 100,000 business customers. There is only one electricity distribution network - SA Power Networks (formerly ETSA Utilities).
South Australia introduced full retail competition to the electricity market in 2002; prior to that date residents were not able to switch electricity providers.
electricity suppliers in adelaide & south australia
Electricity suppliers, called retailers, are companies that sell electricity directly to consumers and/or businesses and issue bills. Retailers do not usually own the wires and poles; they simply purchase electricity wholesale (or in some cases generate electricity themselves) and resell it to the end consumer. They pay the electricity distributors a fee for using their networks to supply power to households and businesses. This fee is passed on to consumers in the form of a supply charge.
As at November 2012, there were eight main retail brands selling electricity to South Australian households:
adelaide & south australia electricity prices
The amount you pay for electricity comprises a fixed supply charge (priced in cents per day) plus usage charges per kilowatt hour of power that you consume (priced in cents per kWh). The more electricity that you consume the higher your usage charges will be so there is always an incentive to use less.
In most states power prices usually vary depending upon where you live. However, in South Australia, with only one distributor, base retail electricity prices are consistent across the entire state although vary according to the retailer you choose.
Power prices also vary depending upon the type of meter you have at your home. Many homes have single-rate meters, which means you pay the same price per kWh regardless of when you use electricity. Some households have off-peak meters tied to specific appliances such as hot water or storage heating that work only at night time; in such cases they pay a lower price for this type of usage.
As electricity rates can vary depending upon where you live, the type of electricity meter you have installed and your current electricity provider and plan it is not necessarily a simple task to find cheaper electricity prices in Adelaide and South Australia. However, with Switchwise you can simply enter your postcode on our homepage, answer a few questions about your energy use and we can show you whether we have been able to find cheaper electricity deals from our panel of suppliers.
