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Regional subsidy and notified prices
Queensland is a large state, with vast distances between our cities and towns. The costs involved in supplying electricity to regional and remote Queenslanders is much greater than for those in the south-east corner of the state. This is due to the high costs of transporting electricity over long distances. There are also fewer people in remote and regional Queensland to share the costs of the transmission towers and poles and wires that deliver them electricity.
The Queensland Government ensures that all Queensland electricity customers of a similar type supplied through the distribution systems of ENERGEX and Ergon Energy, no matter where they live, pay a similar price for their electricity. It does this by subsidising the additional costs involved in supplying electricity to regional Queenslanders through Queensland Government payments to Ergon Energy. This subsidy is called the Community Service Obligation payment. This means that customers in Roma only pay the same rate for their electricity as customers in Brisbane, not the true cost of supplying electricity to their homes.
Notified prices
Customers who have elected not to enter into an individual market contract with an electricity retailer pay the regulated retail tariff (or notified electricity price) for their electricity. Small customers who are currently on a market contract with an electricity retailer can choose to return to the notified prices when the contract ends.
Notified prices are determined by the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA), the state's independent economic regulator. The QCA has been delegated this responsibility by the Minister responsible for Energy, who has the authority to do so under section 90 of the Electricity Act 1994. Generally, the notified prices are in the form of a schedule of tariffs, which contains prices and conditions for the application of the tariffs.
The mechanism for determining the indexation applied to the notified prices each year is the Benchmark Retail Cost Index (BRCI). The BRCI ensures changes in electricity prices reflect changes in the costs of electricity supply, rather than prices in the economy as a whole. The QCA determines the BRCI each financial year.
Electricity Retail Prices for Non-market Customers from 1 July 2011
In May 2011, the QCA announced that the notified prices for the 2011-12 tariff year would increase by 6.6 per cent.
The QCA's draft decision on 16 December 2010 estimated an increase of 5.83 per cent.
The regulated electricity retail prices for non-market customers announced by the Queensland Competition Authority in May 2011 apply from 1 July 2011 until 30 June 2012. For regulated electricity retail prices, visit the Queensland Competition Authority website to download the Gazette Notice re: Notified Prices 2011-12 (May 11).
Full retail competition
The introduction of full retail competition (FRC) from 1 July 2007, gave Queensland electricity customers the option to choose which retailer they purchase their electricity from. Customers should shop around to find the deal that best suits their needs.
Find out more about choosing energy retailers for households and businesses.
Last updated 24 June 2011