Every time you receive your power bill, you'll notice some parts – for generation, transmission and distribution – which cover the cost of supplying electricity to your house. 

Most retailers offer the option to have your bills sent online or through the post. Different retailers set bills out in slightly different ways.

What makes up my power bill?

What am I paying for on my bill?

Most bills include the costs for fixed (also known as daily) costs and variable charges.

  • Fixed charges are shown as cents per day or dollars per day. You will be charged a fixed rate each day regardless of how much power you use.
  • Variable charges are the charges for the actual power you use. The variable charge is based on the kilowatt hours that you have used and is charged at the rate you’ve agreed with your retailer.

Your bill will also include a charge for the Electricity Authority Levy. This charge is usually based on how much power you use. This charge funds the Electricity Authority's work to regulate the electricity industry.

graph showing the different components of a power bill such as generation and transmission as detailed in the above video

What does the Authority do?

We administer industry obligations and voluntary guidelines retailers must follow. These include standards for the contracts retailers have with their customers. We monitor compliance and investigate any breaches of our regulations.