Answers
The questions people ask about electricity here, answered straight.
Each one opens with the answer, cites the official page it rests on, and carries no figure a person made up: where a page shows what plans cost, the figures are the engine’s, from the regulator’s plan data that day. For the same figures in your own suburb, see electricity plans by suburb.
What electricity costs
Averages, the price reset and who is cheapest.
What is the average electricity bill in Brisbane?
What a Brisbane home pays for electricity a year and a quarter, by household size, on typical usage across every plan on the market, and what moves your own bill above or below it.
When do electricity prices change in Queensland?
Every 1 July, when the regulator resets the reference price and, since 1 July 2026, the only time most plans' rates can rise. What changed on 1 July 2026 and what to do about it.
Who is the cheapest electricity provider in Queensland?
Why there is no one cheapest electricity retailer in South East Queensland, how much the plans on the market differ for a typical home, and how to find the cheapest plan for yours.
Why is my electricity bill so high?
The usual reasons a South East Queensland electricity bill jumps, in the order to check them: estimated reads, the season, hot water, a rate change, a benefit period ending, a missed discount and the plan itself.
Are pay-on-time electricity discounts worth it?
How conditional discounts on Queensland electricity plans work, what a missed condition costs, why plans should be ranked on the unconditional price, and when a conditional plan is still the right choice.
Switching and moving
How a switch works, what it costs and what to do when you move.
How do I switch electricity providers in Queensland?
The steps to switch electricity retailer in South East Queensland, what you need, how long it takes, the ten-business-day cooling-off period, and what happens to your old account.
How do I connect electricity when moving house in South East Queensland?
The steps to get electricity connected at a new home in the Energex area: choosing a plan first, what the retailer needs, lead times, what to do at the old address and what to check on the first bill.
Is my home on Energex or Ergon, and why does it matter?
How to tell whether your Queensland home is in the Energex or the Ergon network, why only Energex households can choose an electricity retailer, and which postcodes are inside the Energex area.
How do I compare electricity plans in Queensland without being sold to?
The ways to compare electricity plans in South East Queensland that take no retailer money: Energy Made Easy, the regulator's plan data, your own bill, and what to ask any comparison site before trusting its ranking.
Tariffs and meters
Single rate, time of use, demand, and the smart meter that decides which you can have.
Is a time-of-use electricity plan worth it in Queensland?
How time-of-use tariffs work in South East Queensland, when they beat a single-rate plan, when they cost more, and how to tell which your home should be on.
What is a demand tariff, and should I avoid it?
How a demand tariff charges a Queensland home for its highest half-hour of usage, why one evening can set a month's bill, who it suits and how to price it against the alternatives.
Do I need a smart meter in Queensland?
What a smart meter is, which electricity plans need one in South East Queensland, whether you are getting one anyway, what it costs and what it changes on the bill.
Solar
Feed-in tariffs, the free daytime window, and what solar does to the answer.
Your home
Renters, apartments, pools and electric cars.
Can renters choose their own electricity plan in Queensland?
What a tenant in South East Queensland can and cannot choose about electricity: switching retailer, smart meters, solar, embedded networks and what to do at the start and end of a lease.
Can I choose my electricity provider in an apartment in Brisbane?
How electricity works in Brisbane and Gold Coast apartment buildings, what an embedded network is, how to tell if you are in one, and what choice you have when you are.
What is the best electricity plan for charging an electric car in Queensland?
How an electric car changes a South East Queensland electricity bill, which tariffs suit overnight and daytime charging, and how to compare plans on the extra usage.
What is the cheapest way to run a pool pump in Queensland?
How to cut the cost of a pool pump in South East Queensland: the tariff to put it on, the hours to run it, controlled load, solar, the Solar Sharer window and variable-speed pumps.
Help and concessions
The rebate, the ombudsman and who to ring.
For households in South East Queensland
Find out if you’re overpaying. One bill, about five minutes.
We price every plan available to your home on your actual usage and tell you which are worth switching to, with every figure worked out by code and explained in plain English. Paid by you, never by a retailer.
- Your estimated yearly cost on your plan, and on every other plan sold where you live
- The plans worth switching to, each with a reason and a watch-out
- A 12-month forecast you can check against your next bills
Check My Plan
$9.99, once. Nothing renews.
Upload a recent bill and have the answer today: where your plan sits, what you could save, and exactly what to do about it.
- Nothing charged until you've seen your profile
- Full refund if we can't produce your comparison
- Report usually within two minutes of payment
Not ready to upload a bill? Run my free Quick Scan: no bill, no payment. Or let us keep checking with Energy Watch, $29 a year.