In short
If you live in South East Queensland, from Noosa to Coolangatta and west to the Scenic Rim and the Somerset region, your electricity is delivered by Energex and you can choose among every retailer's plans. Everywhere else in Queensland is Ergon Energy's area, where the retail price is set by the regulator and there is nothing to compare. The distributor's name is on your bill, and your postcode usually settles it.
Two networks, one state
Energex owns the poles, wires and meters in South East Queensland; Ergon Energy owns them across the rest of the state. Both are government-owned, and neither sells you electricity: a retailer does. The difference is that in the Energex area every retailer can sell to you and does, while in the Ergon area the retail price is regulated and Ergon's retail arm is the supplier for households, so there are no competing plans.
How to tell
- Your bill names the distributor, usually near the NMI or in the fine print about faults and emergencies.
- Your NMI. A Queensland NMI that starts with QB is in the Energex area; one that starts with QC, QD, QE, QF or QG is Ergon's. Finding your NMI shows where it is on the bill.
- Your postcode. The Energex area takes in Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay, Redland, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, the Scenic Rim and the Somerset region. The free Quick Scan checks a postcode against it and says so.
Why it matters for comparing
Every plan on the Australian Energy Regulator's plan data for Queensland is a South East Queensland plan. A comparison site that shows a Townsville or Toowoomba household a list of plans is showing it plans it cannot buy. That is why our first question is whether the address is in the Energex area, and why we say so plainly when it is not.
The edges
A few postcodes straddle the boundary, and the Somerset and Scenic Rim regions reach the western edge of the network. If your postcode is not one the scan can place, the catalogue decides plan by plan from the address, and a home that turns out to be in Ergon's area is refunded in full if it paid for a check.
Quick answers
Can I compare electricity plans in Toowoomba, Townsville or Cairns?
No. Those cities are in Ergon Energy's network, where household electricity prices are set by the Queensland Competition Authority and Ergon's retail arm is the supplier, so there are no competing plans to compare. Retail competition in Queensland exists only in the Energex area, South East Queensland.
Which postcodes are in the Energex area?
Broadly, the four-digit postcodes for Brisbane, Logan, Redland and the Gold Coast, the Scenic Rim, Ipswich and the Somerset region, and Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast and Noosa. The free Quick Scan checks a postcode against the ranges we treat as inside the area and says when it cannot be sure, in which case the catalogue decides from the full address.
Sources
Official pages this answer relies on. If one of them changes, tell us and we will update the page.
- Finding your NMI · Energy Made Easy, Australian Energy Regulator
- Energy Product Reference Data · Australian Energy Regulator
- Energy Made Easy · Australian Energy Regulator