How Victorian electricity prices work
Victoria regulates prices differently from NSW, Queensland and South Australia. Instead of the federal Default Market Offer, the state's Essential Services Commission sets the Victorian Default Offer, or VDO, each year. It is the price you pay if you are not on a market offer, and it doubles as the yardstick retailers must compare their own plans against.
The VDO comes in five versions, one for each distribution network. Your network is fixed by your address, so a household in Carlton and one in Ballarat face different reference prices even with the same retailer. For 2026-27 the average VDO bill fell 5%, or $84 a year, to $1,591 for a home using 4,000 kWh. The ESC put the fall down to lower wholesale, network and environmental costs.
Victorian Default Offer rates by distributor
| Network | Usage | Supply | At 4,000 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| AusNet ServicesEastern Melbourne, Gippsland and north-east Victoria | 31.98c/kWh | $1.28/day | $1,747/yr |
| CitiPowerMelbourne CBD and inner suburbs | 25.96c/kWh | $1.21/day | $1,481/yr |
| JemenaNorth-west Melbourne | 27.47c/kWh | $1.27/day | $1,563/yr |
| PowercorWestern Melbourne and western Victoria | 28.22c/kWh | $1.38/day | $1,633/yr |
| United EnergySouth-east Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula | 27.35c/kWh | $1.19/day | $1,529/yr |
CitiPower, which covers the CBD and inner suburbs, has the cheapest usage rate in the state at 25.96c/kWh. AusNet Services, which runs the network across eastern Melbourne, Gippsland and the north-east, is the most expensive at 31.98c. On AusNet the VDO is technically a block tariff, with a step at 1,020 kWh a quarter, but for 2026-27 both blocks carry the same price.
Supply charges are close together, from $1.19 a day with United Energy to $1.38 with Powercor. That is low by national standards. Supply in regional NSW, for comparison, costs $2.72 a day.
Time-of-use rates and the solar soak period
The VDO also has a three-part time-of-use tariff for homes with a smart meter, which is almost every home in Victoria. Peak runs from 4pm to 9pm, a cheaper solar soak period from 11am to 4pm, and off-peak covers 9pm to 11am.
| Network | Peak | Solar soak | Off-peak | Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services | 47.64c | 17.59c | 22.6c | $1.28/day |
| CitiPower | 38.31c | 16.59c | 21.17c | $1.21/day |
| Jemena | 37.57c | 17.65c | 21.76c | $1.27/day |
| Powercor | 41.67c | 17.26c | 22.49c | $1.38/day |
| United Energy | 40.32c | 17.26c | 22.14c | $1.19/day |
The spread is wide. In the AusNet area evening peak power costs 47.64c/kWh, almost three times the 17.59c solar soak rate. If you run the dishwasher, washing machine and pool pump during the day, time of use can work out cheaper than the flat rate. If most of your usage lands between 4pm and 9pm, it can cost you more.
Controlled load
| Network | Controlled load | General usage |
|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services | 22.11c/kWh | 31.98c/kWh |
| CitiPower | 16.59c/kWh | 25.96c/kWh |
| Jemena | 21.41c/kWh | 27.47c/kWh |
| Powercor | 17.26c/kWh | 28.22c/kWh |
| United Energy | 17.26c/kWh | 27.35c/kWh |
Midday Power Saver: free power from 11am to 2pm
From 1 October 2026 every retailer with 1,000 or more Victorian customers must offer a Midday Power Saver plan. It gives you free electricity from 11am to 2pm every day, weekends included, for up to 24 kWh. It is Victoria's version of the federal Solar Sharer Offer.
- You have to ask your retailer for it. It is not switched on automatically.
- You need a smart meter, but you do not need solar panels.
- The daily supply charge still applies, and rates outside the free window can be higher than on a standard plan.
The Victorian Government estimates savings of up to $300 a year, or up to $1,070 for homes with solar and a battery. Those are best-case figures. The real saving depends on how much of your usage you can move into the middle of the day. Our Midday Power Saver guide runs through who it suits.
Solar feed-in tariffs in Victoria
Victoria scrapped its regulated minimum feed-in tariff from 1 July 2025. Retailers now set their own rates, and some pay nothing for exports at certain times of day. The ESC still oversees the terms, but there is no floor to compare against.
Check the feed-in rate before you switch
With no minimum, two plans with the same usage rate can pay very different amounts for your exports. If you export a lot of solar, compare the feed-in rate and any daily export limit as carefully as the usage rate.
How to find your distributor
Your bill names your distributor, usually near the faults and emergencies number. As a rough guide, CitiPower covers the CBD and inner suburbs, Jemena the north-west, United Energy the south-east and the Mornington Peninsula, Powercor the west and western Victoria, and AusNet Services the east and north-east. Boundaries run through suburbs, so check your bill rather than relying on a map.
Victorian bills must also show your retailer's best offer for you, based on your own usage. If that figure is well below what you are paying, ask to be moved onto it.
Victorian energy concessions and grants
- Cheaper Home Batteries Program: About 30% off the first 14kWh. Homes and small businesses installing a battery with solar. Official details
- Victorian Utility Relief Grant: Up to $650 per utility. Concession or low-income households in temporary hardship. Official details
- Electricity concessions in every state and how to claim
Concession card holders can also get the Annual Electricity Concession, which takes 17.5% off electricity usage and supply charges. The $100 Power Saving Bonus closed to new applications on 31 March 2026.
How to beat the VDO
The VDO is a safety net, not a good deal. Use Victorian Energy Compare, the state government's comparison site, with a copy of your bill or your smart meter data. It works out what each plan would have cost you over the past year, which is far more useful than a headline rate.
Then run the numbers for your own usage in our Victorian bill calculator.
Electricity rates by city in Victoria
Each city page shows the network price, the cheapest plans, typical bills for the local climate zone, solar output for the postcode and who to call in an outage.
Questions about Victoria electricity rates
On the Victorian Default Offer it ranges from 25.96c/kWh in the CitiPower area to 31.98c with AusNet Services, plus a daily supply charge between $1.19 and $1.38. The ESC sets these prices for customers who are not on a market offer. Most market offers are cheaper, so use the VDO as the ceiling when you compare plans.
The regulated price did. The ESC cut the average Victorian Default Offer bill by 5%, or $84 a year, to $1,591 for a home using 4,000 kWh. It put the fall down to lower wholesale, network and environmental costs. Your own bill depends on your retailer and plan, so check the price change notice your retailer sent before 1 July.
It is the regulated electricity price set each year by the Essential Services Commission for Victorian households and small businesses that are not on a market offer. There is one price for each of the five distribution networks. Retailers must also show how their market offers compare to it, so it works as a benchmark as well as a safety net.
From 1 October 2026 retailers with 1,000 or more Victorian customers must offer a plan with free power from 11am to 2pm every day, up to 24 kWh. You need a smart meter and must ask your retailer to switch you. The supply charge still applies and other rates can be higher, so it suits homes that can shift usage into the middle of the day.
Not any more. Victoria stopped setting a regulated minimum feed-in tariff from 1 July 2025, so each retailer sets its own rate and some pay nothing at certain times. If you export a lot of solar, compare feed-in rates and any export limits between plans, because they now vary much more than they used to.
On the 2026-27 VDO, CitiPower has the lowest usage rate at 25.96c/kWh and United Energy the lowest supply charge at $1.19 a day. AusNet Services is the most expensive at 31.98c/kWh. You cannot choose your distributor, though, because it depends on your address. What you can choose is your retailer and plan.
Sources
Every rate on this page comes from the regulator or the regulated retailer. Last checked October 2026. Prices include GST unless we say otherwise.