Gridly
The 10 Cheapest Electricity Providers in Melbourne (July 2026)
The cheapest electricity provider in Melbourne right now is OVO Energy, whose The One Plan - JUL2026 plan costs about $1,051 a year for a typical home using 4,000 kWh - roughly $361 less than the median Melbourne plan. We ranked every current residential market offer published by all 78 licensed retailers under the government's Consumer Data Right, priced at the official reference usage for the CitiPower network zone.
Prices last updated 7 July 2026. All figures include GST. Cheap electricity in Melbourne changes month to month, so we refresh this table from the regulator's data feed monthly.
Melbourne's 10 cheapest electricity plans compared
| # | Provider | Plan | Est. annual cost | Usage rate | Daily supply | Solar feed-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OVO Energy | The One Plan - JUL2026 | $1,051 | 18.4c/kWh | 86c/day | 1c/kWh |
| 2 | Alinta Energy | HomeDeal Smart - Single Rate | $1,155 | 20.3c/kWh | 94.5c/day | 0c/kWh |
| 3 | Flipped Energy | Anytime Switched On! | $1,214 | 23.2c/kWh | 78.3c/day | 2c/kWh |
| 4 | 1st Energy | 1st Opal, Residential - Anytime + conditional discount available | $1,217 | 21.3c/kWh | 99.7c/day | 0.5c/kWh |
| 5 | EnergyAustralia | Rate Fix - Peak Only | $1,229 | 26c/kWh | 121.1c/day | 1.5c/kWh |
| 6 | Tango Energy | Everyday Easy | $1,229 | 24.8c/kWh | 64.9c/day | 0c/kWh |
| 7 | Powershop | Power House | $1,230 | 21.6c/kWh | 100.6c/day | 1c/kWh |
| 8 | Sumo | Sumo Sunrise Residential (Single Rate) | $1,237 | 21c/kWh | 109c/day | 1c/kWh |
| 9 | Lumo Energy | Lumo Plus | $1,308 | 23.1c/kWh | 105.4c/day | 1c/kWh |
| 10 | AGL | Residential Netflix Plan - New to AGL | $1,347 | 23.4c/kWh | 113.1c/day | 0.5c/kWh |
Estimated annual cost at 4,000 kWh/year on a single-rate tariff, the regulator's reference usage for the CitiPower network. One plan per retailer (each retailer's cheapest). Conditional discounts are not included in costs or ranking.
How we ranked these plans
Every retailer must publish its plan pricing in machine-readable form under the Consumer Data Right, via the Australian Energy Regulator's Energy Made Easy platform. We surveyed all 78 retailer brands in the register; 24 sell in the CitiPower zone, and we priced 43 current single-rate residential market offers at 4,000 kWh a year - the ESC Victorian Default Offer 2026-27 reference usage for this zone. Rankings use unconditional prices: guaranteed discounts are applied, pay-on-time and direct-debit discounts are not.
We excluded 7 wholesale-price plans (their published rates are estimates, not guaranteed - see our Amber Electric review for how those work) and 48 plans restricted to seniors, members, or specific hardware. No retailer pays for placement. The full method lives on our Electricity Plans hub.
How electricity pricing works in Melbourne
Victoria runs its own electricity rules: instead of the national Default Market Offer, prices are benchmarked against the Victorian Default Offer set by the Essential Services Commission. Retail competition in Melbourne is the fiercest in the country, and it shows in the prices - the cheapest Melbourne plans undercut every other mainland capital in this series.
Your bill has two levers. The usage rate is what you pay per kilowatt-hour consumed. The daily supply charge is a fixed cost for being connected, regardless of usage. Low-usage households - apartments, couples, solar homes - should weight the supply charge more heavily; big consumers should chase the lowest usage rate. Our ranking at 4,000 kWh balances both.
Melbourne homes are also the most likely in Australia to still burn gas for heating and hot water. Every appliance you electrify shifts spend onto the rates in this table, which makes plan choice compound: see our heat pump payback calculator for the hot water switch and the solar savings calculator for Melbourne yields.
Melbourne has five electricity networks
Unlike Adelaide or Brisbane, metro Melbourne is carved up between five distribution networks, and each sets its own poles-and-wires charges. The same retailer prices the same plan differently in Footscray and Frankston. Our table ranks the CitiPower zone (the CBD and inner suburbs); treat it as a shortlist and confirm rates at your own postcode.
- CitiPower - CBD and inner suburbs (Carlton, Richmond, St Kilda, Toorak)
- Jemena - north west (Essendon, Broadmeadows, Sunbury)
- United Energy - south east and Mornington Peninsula (Caulfield, Dandenong, Frankston)
- Powercor - western suburbs and western Victoria (Werribee, Melton, Geelong)
- AusNet Services - outer east and north east (Ringwood, Lilydale, Whittlesea)
Network charges are typically lowest on CitiPower and highest on AusNet, so outer east households should expect the same plans to cost somewhat more than the figures above.
Watch the conditional discounts
A conditional discount is a discount you only receive if you do something: pay on time, set up direct debit, or receive bills by email. Retailers advertise the discounted price, but the moment you miss one payment you are billed at the full rate - and on some plans that full rate is above the market average. The Australian Energy Regulator has repeatedly flagged pay-on-time discounts as functioning like late-payment penalties.
That is why our table ranks on unconditional prices. Plans in the table marked with "conditional discount available" can work out cheaper than their listed cost if you reliably meet the conditions - just make the comparison with your eyes open. The same logic applies to sign-up credits: a $100 credit on a plan that costs $200 more per year is a loss by month seven.
Best solar feed-in tariffs in Melbourne
A feed-in tariff (FiT) is the credit you receive for each kWh of solar you export to the grid. Melbourne retailer feed-in rates currently run from 0 to about 10c/kWh. The trap: high-FiT plans usually pair with higher usage rates, so they only win for homes exporting far more than they import.
| Provider | Plan | Feed-in rate | Est. annual cost (before solar credits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Locals | Home Choice | 10c/kWh | $1,466 |
| CovaU | Super Saver Residential Single | 4.9c/kWh | $1,957 |
| GloBird Energy | GloBird Combo GLOSAVE Residential (Flat Rate Without Controlled Load)-Citipower | 3c/kWh | $1,553 |
| Flipped Energy | Anytime Switched On! | 2c/kWh | $1,214 |
| EnergyAustralia | Rate Fix - Peak Only | 1.5c/kWh | $1,229 |
With feed-in rates this low, exporting solar earns a fraction of what avoiding imports saves. That gap is the economic case for home batteries - store your excess instead of selling it for cents. See what low feed-in rates cost you with our solar export loss calculator, or compare Victorian VPP programs that pay battery owners for grid support.
How to switch electricity providers in Melbourne
- Grab a recent bill. You need your address, your NMI (the meter number on the bill), and your actual usage to compare accurately.
- Check the table above, then verify. Confirm the current rate on the retailer's own site - retailers reprice through the year.
- Sign up online. Takes about ten minutes. The new retailer manages the transfer; there is nothing to disconnect and no outage.
- Use the cooling-off period if needed. You have ten business days to cancel without penalty.
- Settle the final bill. Your old retailer bills you to the switch date. Check it against your meter reading.
Not sure what the line items on that final bill mean? Our guide to reading your electricity bill explains every charge. If you drive electric, plan choice matters double - overnight charging rates vary wildly, covered in our best electricity plans for EV owners.
Cheap electricity in Melbourne: FAQs
Who has the cheapest electricity in Melbourne? ⌄
As of July 2026, the cheapest widely available single-rate plan in inner Melbourne is OVO Energy's The One Plan - JUL2026 at about $1,051 a year for a home using 4,000 kWh. Rankings shift as retailers reprice, so check the current table above before switching.
What is the Victorian Default Offer? ⌄
The Victorian Default Offer is the capped electricity price set each year by the Essential Services Commission, Victoria's independent regulator. It is the price you pay if you never choose a market plan, and the benchmark retailers must compare against. The cheapest market offers in Melbourne sit comfortably below it.
Which electricity network is my Melbourne suburb on? ⌄
Melbourne has five networks: CitiPower covers the CBD and inner suburbs, Jemena the north west, United Energy the south east and Mornington Peninsula, Powercor the west, and AusNet Services the outer east. Your network sets part of your rates, so the same plan is priced differently across the city.
Should I pick the plan with the highest solar feed-in tariff? ⌄
Rarely. A feed-in tariff is the credit you receive per kWh of solar exported, and high feed-in plans usually carry higher usage rates or supply charges that cost more than the extra credits earn. Compare the whole annual cost at your usage and export levels, not the headline feed-in rate.
How do I switch electricity providers in Victoria? ⌄
Sign up with the new retailer online with your address and a recent bill handy - it takes about ten minutes. The new retailer handles the transfer, there are no disconnection works, and supply is never interrupted. You get a ten business day cooling-off period, and your old retailer sends a final bill.
Gridly does not endorse or recommend any particular electricity plan or retailer. Plan information is obtained from data published by the Australian Energy Regulator, whose source is provided by the energy companies themselves. Gridly does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the information provided. Confirm current rates with the retailer before signing up.
Data sources: Australian Energy Regulator Consumer Data Right plan data via Energy Made Easy (prices as of 7 July 2026); reference usage from the ESC Victorian Default Offer 2026-27. All prices include GST. Gridly receives no commissions from electricity retailers and no retailer pays for placement on this page.