Watts & Bills

What electricity costs in Northern Territory

The cheapest connection in Australia, by a distance.

Usage rate

31.68c/kWh

4th cheapest of 8

Daily supply charge

62.45c/day

the cheapest in the country

Connected, before any use

$228a year

You pay this whatever you do

Against the cheapest state

+13%

vs Tasmania, the cheapest

The cheapest connection in Australia, by a distance

The Northern Territory charges 62c a day to be connected - $228 a year, against $701 in south-east Queensland. Nothing else in the country is close. The usage rate sits mid-table, so the Territory is the one place where a household that uses very little electricity genuinely gets a small bill rather than a fixed fee with some usage attached. Prices are set by the government and sold through Jacana Energy; the Territory runs isolated networks around Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs rather than one connected grid, and like Western Australia it has no public wholesale market feed.

What each appliance costs in NT

At 31.68c/kWh. Running all of these would cost $6,659 a year, before the supply charge.

ApplianceEach useA year hereCheapest state
Charging an electric car at home7kW wallbox taking a battery from near-empty to full$13.31$1,331$1,174Tasmania
Electric storage hot water systemFamily-sized tank heating on a controlled-load tariff$2.97$1,082$955Tasmania
Ducted reverse-cycle air conditioningWhole-house ducted system on a hot summer day$10.64$958$845Tasmania
Swimming pool pumpSingle-speed filtration pump on a daily timer$2.44$890$786Tasmania
Electric column heaterPortable oil column heater on full in one room$3.80$380$335Tasmania
Outdoor spaHeater and pump keeping a four-seater spa warm$2.53$380$335Tasmania
Split-system air conditionerOne 2.5kW-cooling bedroom or living-room unit$2.15$259$228Tasmania
Second fridge in the garageOlder beer fridge working harder in an unairconditioned garage57c$208$184Tasmania
DishwasherNormal cycle with internal water heating67c$200$176Tasmania
Vented clothes dryerStandard vented dryer, one full load$1.14$171$151Tasmania
Fridge-freezerAverage draw of a 400L fridge-freezer over a full day44c$161$142Tasmania
Gaming PCMid-to-high-end desktop under load plus monitor51c$152$134Tasmania
Electric ovenStandard 60cm oven at roasting temperature76c$114$101Tasmania
Heat-pump clothes dryerCondenser heat-pump dryer, one full load63c$95$84Tasmania
Washing machineFront loader on a warm wash29c$80$70Tasmania
Television55-inch LED set, five hours of viewing16c$58$51Tasmania
Electric kettleBoiling enough for two mugs, three minutes4c$56$49Tasmania
Air fryerMid-sized basket air fryer, 20 minutes16c$31$28Tasmania
Electric blanketDouble-bed underblanket on a medium setting23c$27$24Tasmania
Ceiling fanStandard four-blade fan on medium18c$27$23Tasmania

The dearest single thing to run here is the charging an electric car at home at $1,331 a year. Figures exclude the daily supply charge, time-of-use tariffs, controlled load and anything you generate yourself — our method says why.

Worth reading next

Sources

  1. AER - Default Market Offer 2026-27 final determination
  2. Reference plan rates by state, 2026-27
  3. Appliance wattages are typical mid-range values for common Australian models. The label on your own unit beats our figure.

Reference prices last checked 2026-10-26. New regulated prices apply from 1 July each year. Spotted something wrong?Tell us — corrections go out the same week.