Power Network Costs To Rise Nationally, With One Exception

The Australian Energy Regulator has completed its annual round of electricity network pricing approvals across most of the country, with one state defying the national trend for higher costs.The national picture is fairly clear: most regions across the National Electricity Market are facing higher network costs in 2026–27, although the size of the increases varies significantly depending on where you live. Victoria’s network results were more mixed than most other jurisdictions, highlighting how differently electricity pricing can move between states and distributors.

These network charges don’t determine your final power bill on their own, but they are a major component of the electricity prices retailers eventually pass on to households. Network charges cover the cost of building, maintaining and operating the poles-and-wires infrastructure that delivers electricity to homes and businesses.

Which Networks Are Seeing The Biggest Changes?

The AER’s pricing data shows a broad upward trend across NSW and Queensland in particular, with several networks recording sizeable increases in the network portion of household electricity bills.

Among the largest increases:

Endeavour Energy (NSW): up around 11%
Energex (QLD): up around 12%
SA Power Networks: up around 10%
Ausgrid (NSW): up around 10%

More moderate increases include:

Essential Energy (NSW): up around 6%
TasNetworks: up around 5%
United Energy (VIC): smaller increases

Victoria is the main outlier nationally, with two distributors recording decreases:

AusNet Services: down around 9%
Jemena: slight decrease

These figures reflect estimated changes in the network portion of household electricity bills, not total retail bill increases.

Not all networks appear in the list above because some operate under government-regulated retail pricing (such as Ergon Energy and Power and Water Corporation) or have tariff structures that don’t produce a comparable residential percentage in the AER’s model.

Victorians Secure Lower Electricity Bills

After the AER’s decision, Victoria’s Essential Services Commission announced it would cut the cap on standard electricity offers, with bills set to drop by around 5%, or $84, for the average household on the Victorian Default Offer.

The savings are even larger for small businesses, which will save around 6% on average, or $241.

What About WA?

WA is not part of the AER’s annual network pricing process because electricity pricing there is handled separately through the WA State Budget.

For 2026–27, the WA Government confirmed a 2.75% increase to the fixed residential electricity charge for households on Synergy’s A1 home plan. That’s a separate pricing decision to the network cost changes being approved by the AER across the eastern states and territories.

Why Are Network Costs Rising?

The drivers vary slightly between states, but the broader pattern is consistent.

The AER says several themes appear repeatedly across the country, including:

• higher transmission costs
• inflation
• energy transition investment
• bushfire mitigation spending
• recovery of previously under-recovered revenue

Networks are also investing heavily in upgrading old infrastructure, improving bushfire resilience and adapting local grids to handle growing levels of rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles.

In NSW, some increases are linked to major energy transition and transmission projects, while South Australia’s figures also include costs associated with maintaining electricity system reliability.

The AER’s figures only cover the network portion of electricity bills, so exactly how these changes flow through to final retail prices will vary depending on retailers and tariff structures.

The National Default Offer will be released by the Australian Energy Regulator on Tuesday. A draft determination in March indicated that the default offer in NSW, SA and South East Queensland could fall due to lower wholesale, environmental and retail operating costs.

What Does This Mean For Solar Households?

Rising network costs still matter for homes with rooftop solar because network charges remain embedded within retail electricity prices, even when households significantly reduce their grid consumption.

Solar and batteries remain among the most effective ways to reduce electricity bills — particularly as higher retail electricity prices improve the value of avoided grid usage.

With network charges increasing across much of Australia, the SolarQuotes Solar Calculator helps you estimate how much solar or a battery could offset future bill rises, while our Electricity Plan Comparison Tool can help determine whether you’re on the best energy plan for your needs.