Published
On 12 June 2026, the 糖心原创 provided a report to the Treasurer as part of its extended inquiry into the supply of electricity in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The 糖心原创 published the report on 10 July 2026.
This is the 糖心原创's 15th report as part of its inquiry into the supply of electricity in the NEM.
This report continues our examination of the electricity billing outcomes for households and small business customers, including changes in their usage, effective prices, bills and the effect of government rebates across Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and South East Queensland.
The report focuses on customers who have installed batteries and those participating in virtual power plants. This is in light of the significant increase in battery installations, driven by the Australian Government鈥檚 Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
To inform this report, we collected residential pricing data from retailers covering 89% of residential customers. We also collected additional information on virtual power plants from 13 electricity retailers and 4 new energy services providers through a voluntary survey.
The report examines:
- the impact of concessions and government rebates on billing outcomes
- bills faced by customers on different tariff types including flat rate, time-of-use and demand tariffs
- trends in the use of solar, bills and feed in tariffs
- the impact of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program and other government rebates on battery installations
- how greater take up and coordination of batteries can reduce overall electricity system costs
- how installing a battery and/or participating in a virtual power plant can impact consumer bills
- the consumer risks associated with investments in battery and solar systems and virtual power plant participation
- the role that enhanced consumer protections could play in facilitating greater consumer trust in batteries and coordination, increasing battery take up and virtual power plant participation.
See: Electricity market monitoring inquiry 2018-26
Appendices
Appendix C - Supplementary Excel spreadsheet with retail pricing data and charts - Inquiry into the National Electricity Market - June 2026 report ( XLSX 2.26 MB )