TL;DR — Energy Locals Review (May 2026)
Energy Locals is Australia’s cheapest electricity provider in most postcodes, using a wholesale pass-through model that eliminates the per-kWh retail margin. Instead of marking up every kilowatt-hour you consume, Energy Locals charges the wholesale price plus a flat membership fee (AUD 0–19/month). For a household using 4,900 kWh/year, the savings versus a Big Three retailer (AGL, Origin, EnergyAustralia) average AUD 350–550/year. The trade-offs: rates fluctuate with wholesale prices, customer support is online-only (no phone hotline), and the company is smaller and less established than AGL or Origin.
How the Wholesale Pass-Through Model Works
Traditional retailers (AGL, Origin, EnergyAustralia) buy electricity at the wholesale price (roughly 6–10 c/kWh in 2026) and sell it to households at 22–35 c/kWh. The difference covers network charges, operating costs, and profit. The more electricity you use, the more profit the retailer earns — a structural incentive against energy efficiency.
Energy Locals charges the wholesale price for the electricity itself and a flat membership fee for everything else. The membership covers operating costs and profit. There is no per-kWh retail margin. The result: a household using 6,000 kWh/year pays significantly less with Energy Locals than with AGL, because the traditional retailer’s per-kWh margin on those extra 1,100 kWh adds AUD 150–250/year in hidden costs.
Pricing Breakdown
| Component | Energy Locals | AGL | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale energy cost | Passed through at actual cost | ~6–10 c/kWh (internal cost, not shown) | ~6–10 c/kWh |
| Retail margin | AUD 0–19/month (membership) | 4–8 c/kWh (hidden in rate) | 4–8 c/kWh |
| Network charges | Passed through (10–14 c/kWh) | Passed through | Passed through |
| Typical usage rate (Sydney, single rate) | 18–24 c/kWh | 25–32 c/kWh | 26–33 c/kWh |
| Daily supply charge | 95–110 c/day | 90–120 c/day | 90–120 c/day |
| Estimated annual cost (4,900 kWh) | AUD 1,350–1,500 | AUD 1,650–1,850 | AUD 1,680–1,850 |
| Solar feed-in tariff | 7–10 c/kWh | 5–7 c/kWh | 6–10 c/kWh |
Rates as of May 2026 for Ausgrid zone (Sydney). Actual rates vary by postcode and meter type.
Plans Available
Online Saver: AUD 0/month membership, slightly higher per-kWh rate. Best for households using under 3,000 kWh/year or small apartments where the membership fee would exceed the savings.
Membership: AUD 19/month, lowest per-kWh rate. Breaks even with Online Saver at roughly 3,500 kWh/year. For a family home using 4,900 kWh/year, the Membership plan saves AUD 50–100/year compared to Online Saver.
Carbon Neutral: AUD 1/week add-on. Energy Locals purchases carbon offsets for your electricity and gas usage. The offsets are Australian-based projects (regeneration, renewable energy) verified under the Australian Government’s Climate Active program.
Who Energy Locals Suits Best
Ideal: households using 3,500+ kWh/year (families, homes with pool pumps or ducted air conditioning), solar owners (competitive feed-in tariff plus no per-kWh penalty for self-consuming), environmentally conscious customers (carbon neutral add-on at AUD 1/week), and anyone tired of AGL and Origin’s discount games (conditional pay-on-time discounts that vanish after one late payment).
Skip: very low-usage homes (under 2,000 kWh/year — a small apartment using 5 kWh/day pays AUD 228/year in membership on the Membership plan, which may exceed the per-kWh saving), customers who want phone support (Energy Locals is online-only), and regional/rural customers where Energy Locals does not yet operate (some Essential Energy zones in western NSW).
Customer Experience and Support
Energy Locals is an online-only retailer. Support is via web chat and email — no phone hotline. Response times are typically 1–4 hours during business hours and next-day on weekends. For routine billing questions and plan changes, the chat support is adequate. For urgent issues (power outage, meter fault), you contact your local network distributor (Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential Energy, etc.), not the retailer — this is the same for all retailers.
Billing is monthly and entirely digital. The bill shows wholesale energy cost, network charges, and membership fee as separate lines — a transparency improvement over traditional retailers, which show a single bundled rate that obscures the wholesale-to-retail markup. The online portal is functional: usage graphs, bill history, plan comparison (Online Saver vs Membership cost projections based on your actual usage).
Energy Locals vs Other Cheap Providers
| Provider | Model | Cheaper Than Energy Locals? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Energy | Fixed-rate retail markup + Qantas Points | Rarely (AUD 10–50/year more) | Qantas frequent flyers |
| Powershop | Pre-purchased “Powerpack” discounts | If active in app buying packs | App-literate users |
| Ovo Energy | Fixed-rate, 100% offset | Sometimes in VIC | Victorian households |
| AGL/Origin | Traditional retail markup | Almost never | Bundlers (electricity + gas + internet + mobile) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my rates go up if wholesale prices spike?
Yes. During a wholesale price spike (summer heatwaves can push prices from AUD 60/MWh to AUD 300–1,000/MWh for hours at a time), the pass-through component of your bill increases. However, the spike affects only the energy cost component (roughly 30–40% of your total bill) and is usually short-lived (hours, not days). Traditional retailers are not immune — they hedge against spikes but pass the cost through in future rate increases.
How do I know if Energy Locals is actually cheaper for my postcode?
Enter your postcode on Energy Locals’ website or use Energy Made Easy (energymadeeasy.gov.au) with your actual usage from your last bill. Compare the estimated annual cost against your current provider. Energy Made Easy ranks plans by annual cost, not by discount percentage.
Does Energy Locals offer gas plans?
Yes, in NSW, VIC, SA, and the ACT. Gas is also pass-through at wholesale rates with the same membership covering both electricity and gas. The dual-fuel setup is seamless — one bill, one membership.
Is Energy Locals financially stable?
Energy Locals is a smaller retailer than AGL or Origin, which raises valid concerns after several small Australian energy retailers collapsed during the 2022 wholesale price crisis. Energy Locals survived 2022 because its pass-through model insulated it from wholesale losses — the risk of wholesale price increases is passed to customers, not absorbed by the retailer. The company is backed by several institutional investors and holds an Australian Energy Retailer Authorisation.
Can I get a smart meter with Energy Locals?
Yes. Energy Locals arranges smart meter installation through your local network distributor. Smart meters are free in VIC (government program). In other states, installation costs AUD 0–150 depending on your distributor and meter type. A smart meter is required for time-of-use tariffs and solar export metering.
Final Verdict
Energy Locals is the cheapest electricity provider for most Australian households, saving AUD 350–550/year compared to the Big Three. The wholesale pass-through model is fairer, more transparent, and structurally aligned with customer interests — the retailer earns the same regardless of your consumption. The online-only support and variable rates are genuine trade-offs, but the savings justify them for the vast majority of households.
Check your Energy Locals rate →
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission when you sign up through these links — at no extra cost to you. Review based on publicly available pricing and plan documents as of May 2026.