Now that the rollout of smart meters is being accelerated, we need to ensure household choice of retail offers is protected and that a change of meter doesn’t result in unfair costs and bill shock.
That’s why we supported implementing robust measures to protect choice and consent in our joint response to the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW) Retail Electricity Tariffs Consultation Paper, including:
- Prohibiting retailers from changing a consumer’s price structure without their explicit, informed consent, and;
- ensuring NSW households can access a simple, flat rate retail offer, regardless of whether they have a smart meter or not.
What’s next?
In the system energy retailers are there to offer choice to consumers and should be required to deliver what has been chosen. We will continue to advocate for tariff and pricing reforms that will benefit NSW households and protect meaningful consumer choice, through the remainder of this process, the AEMC pricing review, the 2026 implementation of the DMO and other processes looking at energy retail reform.
