Electricity costs by state

Two numbers build an electricity bill, and comparing states on the first one is how people reach the wrong conclusion. The usage rate rewards you for switching things off. The daily supply charge does not care: you pay it for every day you hold a connection, whether you ran a ducted air conditioner all month or were overseas the whole time.

The spread on that fixed charge is wider than most people expect — $228 a year in Northern Territory against $701 in Queensland (south-east). Queensland has close to the cheapest electricity in the country to use and the dearest connection to have, which is why a plan with a lower rate is not automatically the better plan there.

Every retailer must publish an estimated annual cost for your usage level, and that figure includes both parts. It is the only comparison that is actually true — we went through the arithmetic here.