Solar & Battery Owners Lead The Charge In Switching Energy Providers

New owners of solar energy systems are more likely to switch electricity service provider than the typical Australian household, according to a survey undertaken by Roy Morgan – with the trend even more pronounced for battery owners.

Are Solar & Battery Owners More Likely To Switch Energy Providers?

The survey found 31% of new solar energy system owners either did switch or are likely to change energy providers in the next 12 months, compared to 25% of all Australian households.

The figure is even higher for those with rooftop solar and battery storage, with 33% of those surveyed either switching or likely to do so soon.

Who Was Surveyed?

The survey covered households across Australia except for Western Australia (where the main grid has a monopoly for electricity supply through Synergy) from October 2024 through to September 2025.

The survey base was 56,356 households – of which 1,191 bought any solar energy system (including rooftop solar, solar hot water & solar heated swimming pools) in the preceding year. The majority of those – 1,010 – were purchasers of roof solar panels in the last 12 months.  The results included 425 households that bought roof solar panels with battery storage.

How Many Actually Switched Providers?

A fifth of those who acquired solar energy systems in the past twelve months also switched electricity retailers – 4% points higher than the general Australian population. The rate of switching is 6% higher than the national average for households with both solar and battery.

Respondents that changed provider and bought solar in the last 12 months were most likely to choose Alinta or EnergyAustralia for their new provider, and less likely to choose AGL.

Why Are Solar And Battery Providers More Likely To Switch?

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine concluded that people investing in solar were clearly incentivised to ensure they were getting maximum value from their new investment.

“The data clearly shows that in this challenging economic climate decreasing feed-in tariffs, not just high energy prices, are impacting household decisions. These factors are pushing households to review their plan to make sure they are getting as much return on their investment as possible” Levine said.

Levine expects the rate of Australians switching energy provider will increase further as home battery uptake continues to increase.

“The Federal Government’s ‘Cheaper Home Batteries Program,’ which launched recently in July 2025 is expected to lead to an even more rapid uptake of solar energy storage battery systems in the coming years. With this continued increase in ownership of solar energy storage battery systems, this will almost certainly drive a substantial increase in the rate of switching electricity providers or even lead to households living completely off the grid,” she said.

What About People Only Considering A Switch?

Of the general population, 12% were planning to change energy provider, compared to 15% of households with solar energy systems, and 17% of those with both solar and battery.

This extends to those who intend to acquire any solar energy system in the next 12 months, of which 17% are also thinking about a switch.

Proportion of respondents likely to be considering switching energy provider in the next 12 months.

Don’t Get Ripped Off By Your Energy Retailer

Levine warned that diminishing feed-in tariffs from electricity service providers might eventually slow the trend of solar households switching providers.

There are however plenty of other differences between energy plans that remain relevant to solar owners aside from feed-in tarriffs – including daily connection charges, as well as rates for peak, off peak and shoulder periods.

Battery owners meanwhile are being targeted by retailers with higher evening feed-in tariffs to encourage them to export their stored energy during peak demand periods.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently warned that households on the same electricity plan for more than three years were being slugged with a “loyalty penalty”, paying on average $221 more annually than customers on new plans.

New rules coming into place in July aim to protect customers by ensuring they don’t pay any more than the standing/default offer price if their energy plan’s benefits change or expire.

To compare energy offers and feed-in tarrifs, use SolarQuotes’ electricity plan comparison tool to make sure you are on the best deal for your needs.