The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has published its final recommendations following one of Australia’s most comprehensive reviews of electricity pricing, setting out a practical roadmap to make power bills simpler and fairer for energy consumers.
Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world. One in four households already generates their own power. By 2040 that will be one in two. The pricing framework was designed for a world where electricity flowed one way from large generators to consumers. That world has fundamentally changed.
The review makes four recommendations that together propose to simplify how energy is priced and accessed, put retailers on notice over loyalty penalties, and ensure the millions of Australians who have invested in solar, batteries, and electric vehicles are properly rewarded, not penalised.
AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the review responded to what consumers and stakeholders had made clear throughout the process.
“Electricity pricing has become too complex, too hard to compare, and too often unfair. You shouldn’t need to be an energy expert to get a fair deal, and long-standing customers should not pay more than someone who just walked in the door,” Collyer said.
“This review sets out a clear roadmap for change. These are recommendations only, bringing them to life will require further work, consultation and collaboration with consumer representatives, industry and governments over the years ahead.”
Related article: Network pricing reform could deliver $6 billion in savings
Making electricity more like milk
The most significant recommendation shifts pricing complexity away from household bills and onto retailers and energy service providers, who are better placed to manage it.
The AEMC said electricity should be priced in the same way as milk sold in supermarkets: Consumers are not billed separately for the milk, the carton, or the transport—instead, they pay one shelf price.
To do the same with electricity requires simple, predictable plans that are easy to understand and easy to judge, without needing to navigate complex pricing structures just to work out if you are getting a good deal.
“In practice, that means a household could choose a plan that is straightforward and easy to compare, without needing to understand demand charges, time of use windows or network tariff structures, while their retailer manages the complexity behind the scenes,” the AEMC said.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Customers will not all pay the same. The design would be guided by a simple principle: what a household contributes to the shared grid should broadly reflect the value they receive from it.”
Rewarding those with solar and batteries
The AEMC also recommends reform on how all households and small businesses contribute to the shared grid, in a way that rewards solar, batteries and flexible energy use, and helps to reduce overall system costs over time.
“Millions of Australians have invested in solar, batteries and electric vehicles. They are already reshaping our energy system for the better. This review makes sure the pricing system catches up with what they have built, and rewards them properly for it,” Collyer said.
“For consumers with batteries, the reforms create more targeted opportunities to be rewarded for the genuine value they provide to the grid —reducing congestion, easing pressure at peak times, and helping keep costs down for everyone.
“The final report is clear that any changes would include explicit protections to ensure consumers can benefit from change without facing sudden or unexpected bill increases. Getting those protections right is part of the work ahead.
“Electricity pricing will not change next week or next year. What we recommend changes today, is the direction, and our commitment to getting there together with consumers, industry and governments,” she said.
Shining a light on loyalty penalties
Consumers who stay on the same energy plan for years often end up paying significantly more than new customers for the same product. It is a penalty for loyalty that most people do not even know they are paying.
Under this recommendation, retailers will be required to notify customers who have been on the same plan for four years how much extra they paid compared to a better offer, and to make all their market offers available to existing customers.
Under any reform, Retailers would also be required to report that data to the Australian Energy Regulator, which will publish it. For the first time, Australians will be able to see which energy providers are routinely charging loyal customers more and hold them to account for it.
Better tools to compare plans
The review also recommends addressing a growing gap in the market. As energy products become more sophisticated, consumers, particularly those with solar, batteries or electric vehicles, increasingly need to compare plans across multiple dimensions, not just price.
Yet the tools available to help them do that have not kept pace. The AEMC will work with relevant organisations to explore what a fit-for-purpose comparison service should look like in a future market, what information consumers need to make confident energy choices, and how that service should be funded to remain independent, credible and sustainable over time.
Related article: Spotlight on: AEMC chair Anna Collyer
Keeping rules fit for purpose
The review also introduces a regular review of rules and regulations, starting in 2029, to ensure consumer protections remain strong and the framework keeps pace with a rapidly changing market.
As technology evolves and new energy products emerge, regulations that once served consumers well can become outdated, adding cost and complexity without delivering real benefit.
The AEMC’s modelling, published in April 2026, found reform could deliver up to $6 billion in network cost savings over 15 years—a reduction of $40 to $80 per household per year by 2040.
Without reform, the cost of maintaining the shared grid falls increasingly on those least able to avoid it—renters, apartment residents and lower-income households who cannot access solar or batteries.
At the same time, the complexity of the energy market is becoming harder to navigate. Many consumers have simply given up trying to find a better deal.
The longer reform is delayed, the harder and more costly the transition becomes. The sooner reform begins, the more gradually it can be staged, giving households, retailers and networks time to adjust rather than being forced into more disruptive change later.
“Inaction is not a neutral option. The longer we wait, the more costly and more complex this system becomes, and the heaviest burden falls on those least able to carry it,” Collyer said.
Network pricing reform will be introduced gradually, through established rule change processes and in genuine consultation with industry, governments and consumers. Implementation would commence around 2030 and proceed over approximately 10 years.
