Starting 1 July 2025, electricity prices under the Default Market Offer (DMO) will rise across New South Wales (NSW), South East Queensland (SEQ), and South Australia (SA), directly impacting households and small businesses on standing offer contracts, it also flows through to customers on contract as Retailers will review Market Contract prices. These changes, announced by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), are driven by increased wholesale energy costs, network expenses, and retail operating costs.
⚡ What Is the Default Market Offer?
The DMO serves as a price cap for electricity retailers, ensuring consumers on standing offer plans are protected from excessively high prices. It also acts as a reference point, helping customers compare different market offers. The DMO applies to residential and small business customers in NSW, SEQ, and SA.
📈 Key Price Changes from 1 July 2025
The AER’s final determination outlines the following increases:
Residential Customers
- NSW: Increases between 8.3% and 9.7%, depending on usage and location.
- SEQ: Increases ranging from 0.5% to 3.7%.
- SA: Increases between 2.3% and 3.2%.
Small Business Customers
- NSW: Increases up to 8.5%.
- SEQ: Increases up to 8.5%.
- SA: Increases up to 8.5%.
💡 Why Are Prices Increasing?
Several factors contribute to the DMO price hikes:
- Wholesale Energy Costs: Rising costs in the wholesale electricity market.
- Network Costs: Increased expenses associated with maintaining and upgrading electricity networks.
- Retail Operating Costs: Higher costs for retailers to supply electricity to consumers.
These components have collectively led to the need for adjusted DMO prices to ensure retailers can recover their costs while protecting consumers.
🛠️ What Can You Do?
While the DMO sets a cap, many retailers offer market contracts below this threshold. Retailers will review Market Contract rates based on these changes. Consumers are encouraged to: Compare Offers: Use the Energy Made Easywebsite to find better deals.
But, if you have more than 5 accounts, there may be better offers out there so you should contact us for a no obligation discussion on your options.