Network Tariffs

We’re currently introducing new network tariff options for our residential, small business and large business customers that have a digital meter.

Network charges are only part of your final electricity bill.

About our tariff reform journey

Many of our existing network tariffs were developed in the 1990s. Since then, however, the way our customers use our networks has changed dramatically. The majority of homes and businesses today have air conditioning and around a third have rooftop solar, and technology change continues with the introduction of batteries and electric vehicles.

This is seeing both record demand on our networks on a ‘summer evening’, at the same time as a dramatic reduction in the demand on the network during the middle of a ‘sunny day’. This change, and the increasing two-way flow of energy, is driving our tariff reforms.

So where are we at? The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) made a final determination of our tariff structures for 2020-25 for Ergon Energy Network and Energex in June 2020. This followed the submission of our Revised Tariff Structure Statements (TSS) in December 2019.

More detailed information about the new tariffs is available at Pricing & tariffs on the Energex website and Network tariffs on the Ergon Energy Network website.

The tariff reforms that are now progressing will provide customers greater choice in how they pay for using our networks, and meet our regulatory requirement to introduce network tariffs that better reflect the cost of supply of electricity, while importantly managing customer bill impact.

The aim of the new pricing signals or structures is to reduce the overall cost of supplying electricity across Queensland, so we can reduce the charges we pass through to electricity retailers, and to ensure fair and equitable charging for our customers.

Read on to learn more about what these changes mean for customers and their bills.

We will continue to engage as we roll out these reforms and, to keep up with the take up of solar and the other emerging technologies, as we build our suite of tariffs for 2025-30.

Remember, network charges are only part of your electricity bill

Ergon Energy Network and Energex charge electricity retailers, using different network tariffs, for the residential and business customers they have who are connected to our networks. Retailers then package up all of their costs (below) and charge customers via various retail tariffs.

It is up to electricity retailers to decide if they wish to reflect the pricing signals embedded in the network tariffs discussed here in the retail tariffs they pass on to customers.

An electricity bill is made up of:

• Retail costs - for customer services like call centres, and administrative tasks such as billing.
• Energy costs - the retailers buy electricity from the wholesale market and must comply with ‘green schemes’, such as the Renewable Energy Target.
• Network and transmission costs - the cost of investing in and operating the ‘poles and wires’ and other costs, like the Solar Bonus Scheme.^[1]

New network tariffs for 2020-25

To understand our new tariffs, it is handy to understand the concepts of energy, demand and time-of-use.

• Energy tariffs charge for the use of energy per kWh, it can be a flat rate or variable rates for electricity used at different times of the day – of course, cheaper outside of peak times.
• Demand tariffs charge based on the maximum amount of electricity used at any point in time during specific peak times over the billing period. Maximum demand (kW) occurs when most of a home or business’ appliances are being used at the same time.

With our new demand tariffs, customers are also charged a flat rate for the energy used (kWh), with either a transitional demand rate that allows customers to access the potential benefits of demand tariffs under transitional pricing, or a full demand tariff that is fully cost reflective.

• Time-of-use tariffs charge based on the time the electricity is used over the billing period. The price changes at different times of the day and electricity is cheaper outside of peak times.

Customers on time-of-use tariffs can save by smoothing out their electricity use throughout the day, by shifting some of their appliances use outside the peak times, or (if on a demand tariff) by avoiding the use of multiple, high energy using appliances at the same time during the peak period.

For some simple energy savings tips to help smooth out your electricity throughout the day visit the Ergon Network and Energex websites for some useful information.