Overview of our findings on the retail electricity market in 2022-23
We have found that:
- Retail prices increased by around 20% in 2022-23 due to a surge in the wholesale costs of supplying energy. These wholesale price increases were due to a combination of high international prices for coal and gas, an unusually cold start to winter and energy generation outages. Wholesale electricity prices have come down significantly since peaking.
- The number of electricity retailers active in the market fell from 35 to 25, while the number of gas customers did not change. However, the fall in active electricity retailers did not impact the market share of smaller electricity retailers. Customer switching rates have also remained relatively stable in both the gas and electricity retail markets.
Alongside our annual report, we have published:
- An appendix, which sets out key price trends and changes in indicators we consider when preparing our report and certain customer outcomes. The underlying price trends data in our report.
- A spreadsheet containing the retail price trends. Further price information on historical price information can be found here.
Access to a broader range of information would improve understanding of market outcomes for customers
We are concerned that there are signs that the energy retail market is not delivering the level of competition which customers might expect in a competitive retail market. It appears to be difficult for customers to find and move to better offers. If customers cannot engage in and navigate the market easily, they will not benefit as much from energy retail competition as they could. The publicly available data is not sufficient to make a full assessment of these issues.
We are limited in the information that we can consider in preparing our annual retail market monitoring reports. We are concerned that there are signs the retail energy market is not delivering the level of competition which customers might expect in a competitive retail market.
Publicly available data is not sufficient to make a full assessment. Additional transparency around customers’ experience in the market and the outcomes it is delivering for them is needed. We also consider that there would be value in assessing whether the incentives that govern how retailers act in the market are sufficiently aligned with the interests of consumers.
We would be able to obtain a more nuanced understanding of customer experiences if we could incorporate a wider range of data and surveillance information. It would also help us to determine what steps would help improve the competitiveness of the market. If IPART could publish more of this type of information, it may increase transparency and competition in the market.