From today, many Farrer households and businesses will receive a fairer and cheaper deal on their electricity bill thanks to the Morrison Government.

The change is among a number of policies implemented by our government taking effect from 01 July.

From this month, electricity prices will be capped for nearly 800,000 customers on ‘standing offers’ in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia, with the introduction of a ‘default market offer’.

The Default Market Offer or DMO is similar to standing offers but the new default price is set by the government, and is generally lower than previous standing offer prices.

This way customers not signed up to market offers may still receive a ‘fairer’ deal on electricity.

The DMO effectively serves as a price cap to protect those who find pricing and discounts confusing, or who simply haven’t had the time to negotiate a better deal.

We are stopping energy companies from taking advantage of their loyal customers by artificially inflating their standing offer prices.

The maximum price to be charged by retailers for standing offers has been set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and applies in regions where prices are not already regulated by a state or territory.

NSW households changing to the Default Market Offer from standing offer contracts could save up to $663 – NSW businesses changing to a DMO from standing offer contract could save up to $2,851.

The Default Market Offer will also serve as a reference bill, which will improve transparency in the market by requiring all retailers to advertise their offers in comparison to that benchmark price.

The reference bill will allow customers to easily identify which is the cheapest deal available for them, making it easier for customers to understand the discounts on offer

The introduction of the Default Market Offer and reference bill builds on the Morrison Government’s work to protect customers and reduce power prices for families and small business.