The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has released its 2019 report on competition in the energy market finding that retailers were moving away from ‘dodgy discounts’ towards simpler, more stable priced contracts.
Chair of the AEMC, John Pierce said this was revealed in an analysis on whether energy shoppers were getting what they wanted from the market.
“Switching to better deals has reached a record high with nearly one in four customers changing retailers,” Mr Pierce said, “and lots of those taking their business away from the big three retailers to sign-up with energetic smaller players.”
He said increased competition had led to price cuts and large reductions in market concentration.
“There are big challenges to grapple with all across the supply chain as the power system transforms,” he said.
“But there are also opportunities driven by new technologies and consumer choices – just as we’ve seen in the past for other dramatically disrupted industries like telcos and mobile phones.”
He said the Commission was seeing signs of a more engaged market responding positively to greater product innovation and bundling, and producing positive outcomes.
“Dominant players in the market are under pressure and I call on them to respond positively as consumers get to reap the benefits of a market where there are more participants and more real choices targeted to the specific needs of individual households,” Mr Pierce said.
He noted some of the other trends identified in the report included increased competition with five new businesses entering the market and the big three retailers, Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia, no longer holding the biggest market shares in south-east Queensland and South Australia.
The Commission’s 243-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
