How Long Has It Been Since You Switched Energy Providers?

Ask most Australians when they last switched electricity providers and the most common answer is some variation of "a while ago" or "not sure." Unlike mobile phone contracts or home loans, electricity plans don't come with obvious renewal prompts. There's no annual letter saying your fixed term has ended, no broker calling to ask if you've reviewed recently, no automatic notification that a better deal is now available.

The result is that millions of households are on plans they signed up to years ago, paying rates that have quietly become uncompetitive while the market has moved on without them.

This article makes the case for why switching frequency matters, what the two-year threshold actually means in practice, and how to approach a review without it becoming a major project.

The Market Doesn't Stand Still

Electricity retailers regularly release new plans and adjust their offers to attract customers. These competitive moves are most aggressive for customers who are actively switching — that is, people who have entered a comparison tool, signalled intent, and are about to make a decision. Retailers compete hard for that customer.

The household that signed up two or three years ago and hasn't engaged since is not that customer. They're not being competed for. They're generating margin.

This is the structural reality behind the ACCC's finding that long-tenure customers pay, on average, $221 more per year than customers who have recently switched. It's not that those households did anything wrong when they signed up — the plan they chose may have been genuinely competitive at the time. The problem is that the market has moved, new offers have been released, and the plan hasn't moved with it.

What Happens to Plans Over Time

Several specific mechanisms cause a plan that was once competitive to become uncompetitive over time.

Annual rate adjustments. Most market offers allow retailers to adjust rates annually, typically aligned with the AER's reference price review in July. A plan that was 15% below the reference price when you signed up may be 8% below after two annual reviews if the retailer has applied rate increases. The reference price itself may have risen, but the gap between your plan and the market's most competitive offers can narrow or disappear without you realising.

Conditional discount expiry. Many plans are structured with an introductory conditional discount — a percentage off usage charges for the first 12 months, or for the life of the plan provided conditions are met. These conditions are not always maintained by customers over time. If you've stopped meeting the conditions, you're on the full (undiscounted) rate, which is rarely competitive.

Better offers entering the market. New retailers enter the market. Established retailers launch competitive acquisition offers to grow their customer base. Battery-integrated plans, green energy plans, and EV-optimised tariffs have all emerged in recent years. The plan you chose before these options existed may no longer be the best fit for your household's current setup.

The Two-Year Rule of Thumb

There's no universally correct switching frequency for electricity. Switching every six months, as some consumer advocates have historically suggested, is probably excessive for most households — the administrative effort of switching and confirming billing is correct on a new account is real, even if it's modest.

Two years is a reasonable threshold for a review. Not necessarily a switch — a review. The questions a two-year review asks are:

1. Is my current plan still below the reference price by a meaningful margin?
2. Has my usage rate changed since I signed up?
3. Am I still receiving any conditional discount I was promised?
4. Are there now better options available in my postcode for my usage profile?

If the answers to these questions confirm your plan is still competitive, you don't need to switch. But you'll know that rather than assuming it.

The Switching Process Is Easier Than Most People Think

One of the reasons households don't switch more often is an overestimation of the effort involved. The process of switching electricity retailers in Australia requires:

1. Choosing a new plan via a comparison tool or retailer website
2. Completing an online signup form (5–10 minutes)
3. Providing your current NMI (National Metering Identifier), which appears on your electricity bill
4. Confirming your identity details

After that, your new retailer handles the transfer process with your current retailer and the network operator. There is no interruption to supply at any point. You don't need to be home. A technician doesn't need to visit. Your electricity continues uninterrupted during and after the switch.

The only complexity worth flagging is exit fees. If you're on a fixed-term contract, check whether an early termination fee applies before you switch. On a market offer with no fixed term, there are typically no exit fees.

Signs You've Waited Too Long

A few specific indicators that a switch is probably overdue:

• You've been on the same plan for more than two years and haven't actively reviewed it
• Your bill shows your plan is at or above the reference price
• You can't clearly recall what discount or rate you signed up for
• Your quarterly bills have crept upward across the past four to six quarters without a usage explanation
• You're on a standing offer (not a market offer) — standing offers are almost always uncompetitive

Any one of these is a reasonable trigger for a review. Several together suggest the loyalty penalty is already costing you money.

What a Review Actually Involves

A proper electricity plan review involves three things: knowing what you're currently paying (from your bill), knowing what's available in your area (from a comparison tool), and making a decision based on that comparison.

The review itself should take 15–20 minutes if you have your most recent bill to hand. The information you need from the bill is your average daily kilowatt-hour consumption, your current tariff type, and your usage rate and supply charge.

From there, a comparison tool gives you a ranked list of alternative plans with estimated annual costs based on your actual usage — not a generic household assumption.

Start your review now using our [comparison tool](/compare). Enter your postcode and usage details from your current bill, see what's available, and decide whether the plan you're on is still earning its place.

Sources: ACCC Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry final report; Australian Energy Regulator market offer and standing offer data; AER State of the Energy Market 2024.