Most guides to Sydney power prices go suburb by suburb. That’s not how prices actually work. No retailer sets a special rate for Newtown or Blacktown.
What really matters is which network your home is on. Two homes a few streets apart can be on different networks and pay different charges. Knowing your network is the first step to finding the cheapest electricity provider in Sydney for your home.
Distributors and Retailers: Who Does What?
There are two businesses behind your power:
- The distributor owns the poles and wires that bring electricity to your street. You don’t choose it. It depends on your address.
- The retailer sends you the bill. You can choose and change your retailer.
Sydney has two distributors:
- Ausgrid covers the city, the eastern suburbs, the inner west, the north shore, the northern beaches and the southern suburbs, plus the Central Coast and the Hunter.
- Endeavour Energy covers greater western and south-western Sydney, the Hills District and the Blue Mountains, plus the Southern Highlands and the Illawarra.
A third distributor, Essential Energy, covers regional and rural NSW. The border between Ausgrid and Endeavour doesn’t follow council areas or postcodes neatly. The easiest way to check yours is on your bill.
“In an apartment building? With an NRG-managed embedded network, your building chooses the retailer for everyone, and can tender for a better deal than any one household could get.”
Electricity Reference Prices 2026–27: What They Mean
Each year the energy regulator (the AER) sets a reference price for each network. It’s the most a retailer can charge on its basic “standing offer” plan. Retailers also use it as a benchmark when advertising their deals.
Network | Reference price 2026–27 | Based on yearly use of | Change from last year |
Ausgrid | $1,899 | 3,900 kWh | down $66 |
Endeavour Energy | $2,328 | 4,900 kWh | down $83 |
Essential Energy | $2,604 | 4,600 kWh | down $137 |
Look at the middle column first. Each price assumes a different amount of power use. The Endeavour figure is based on a household using about 25% more electricity than the Ausgrid one. So the $429 gap is mostly about usage, not about western Sydney paying more.
How an NRG building compares
Apartment buildings that buy power for the whole site through an embedded network aren’t covered by the table above. Here’s how the average NRG-managed building compares at the same usage:
Ausgrid area (3,900 kWh) | Endeavour area (4,900 kWh) | |
Reference price (flat rate) | $1,899 | $2,328 |
Reference price (time of use) | $1,893 | $2,320 |
Average NRG-managed building | $1,489 | $1,779 |
Saving with NRG | $410 a year (about 22%) | $549 a year (about 24%) |
“NRG figures are based on the average supply charge ($0.98 a day) and usage rate (29c/kWh), including GST, across NRG-managed residential buildings as of 2026, at the same usage as the regulator’s benchmark. Individual building rates vary.”
Small Business Prices: A Fairer Comparison
For small businesses, the regulator uses the same yearly usage (10,000 kWh) in every network, so these figures can be compared directly:
- Ausgrid: about $4,520 a year
- Endeavour Energy: about $4,340 a year
- Essential Energy: higher than both
At the same usage, western Sydney is actually about $180 a year cheaper than eastern Sydney. That’s the opposite of what most people expect. Your postcode isn’t usually the reason your bill is high.
When Do Peak Rates Apply in Sydney?
Many plans charge more at busy times of day, called peak times.
- Ausgrid:peak runs from 3pm to 9pm every day, but only in summer (November to March) and winter (June to August). In April, May, September and October there is no network peak.
- Endeavour Energy:peak runs from 4pm to 8pm on weekdays all year, and costs more in summer. Power is cheapest between 10am and 2pm.
Your retailer can set its own peak times, though. Some charge peak rates every month of the year, even on Ausgrid. That can make a big difference to your bill.
Check two things on your plan:
- When is peak?Does it run all year, or only in summer and winter?
- Are you on a time-of-use plan at all?On a flat-rate plan, you pay the same price whatever time you use power.
“In NRG buildings, the Owners Corporation decides the tariff structure, including whether residents are on peak rates at all.”
Solar Sharer: free power, but check the fine print
Since 1 July 2026, larger retailers must offer a Solar Sharer plan. It gives you free power from 11am to 2pm every day, up to 24 kWh. You need a smart meter, and you have to ask your retailer for it. It isn’t available to homes supplied through an embedded network.
Free hours sound great, but the power isn’t really free. To cover it, Solar Sharer plans charge more for power at all other times, including the evening peak, when most homes use the most. If you have solar panels, you may also get no feed-in credit during the free hours.
Solar Sharer can save you money if you’re home during the day, or can run the pool pump, hot water, dishwasher, washing machine or EV charger between 11am and 2pm. If most of your power use is in the evening, or you’re already on a good deal, you could save nothing, or even pay more.
Before you switch: compare the rates outside the free hours with your current plan, and work out how much of your usage you can really move to the middle of the day.
Live in an apartment? There may be a better way.
Solar Sharer only pays off if you can move your power use to the middle of the day. For a typical household, the regulated Solar Sharer price works out at about $1,893 a year on the Ausgrid network.
In the average NRG-managed building, the same household would pay about $1,489 a year, around $400 less, with no timing rules and no higher evening rates. That’s because the whole building buys its power together, and the Owners Corporation, not a retailer, decides what residents pay.
How to Cut Your Peak Power Costs at Home
Heating and cooling usually cost the most, so start there:
- Run the dishwasher and washing machine before the afternoon peak, or in free or cheap midday hours if your plan has them.
- Heat or cool your home before peak starts, rather than during it.
- Set the air conditioner a degree or two closer to the outside temperature. Every degree makes a difference.
- On Ausgrid, save big jobs for April, May, September and October when there’s no network peak.
None of this changes what the network charges. It changes how much of your power you use at the expensive times.
Final Word: Apartments Can Do Better
This guide is for homes with their own meter and their own retail plan. If you live in, or manage, an apartment or strata building, there’s another option.
With an embedded network managed by The NRG Company, your building buys its power as one large customer. That means:
- Better prices. On average, residents in NRG-managed buildings pay around 22–24% less than the regulator’s reference price at the same usage.
- Your building is in control. The Owners Corporation decides who supplies the building and what residents pay, not a retailer or a long-term contract.
- Price protection. By law, residents in an embedded network can’t be charged more than the regulator’s reference price.
- Everything handled. We look after the meters, billing, payments and compliance.
Whether you’re already in an embedded network or want to start one, ask us for a free building review. We’ll show you what your building could be paying.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Am I on Ausgrid or Endeavour Energy?
- Check your electricity bill. The distributor’s name is usually near the supply address or the meter details. As a rough guide, the city, eastern, inner and northern Sydney are Ausgrid, and the west, south-west and Blue Mountains are Endeavour Energy.
2. Is electricity cheaper in eastern or western Sydney?
- Not really. The household reference prices look far apart because they assume different amounts of usage. When the same usage is compared, as with small business prices, western Sydney is slightly cheaper. How much power you use matters far more than where you live.
3. Do peak rates apply all year in Sydney?
- It depends on your network and your plan. On Ausgrid, there’s no network peak in April, May, September or October. On Endeavour Energy, peak applies on weekdays all year. Your retailer can also set its own peak times, so check your plan.
4. Is Solar Sharer worth it?
- Only if you can move a large share of your power use to between 11am and 2pm. The free hours are paid for by higher rates the rest of the day, so homes that use most of their power in the evening could end up paying more. Compare your current plan’s rates before switching. Solar Sharer also isn’t available to homes on an embedded network.
5. I live in an apartment. Is there a cheaper option?
- If your building runs an embedded network managed by NRG, you’re likely already paying less than the reference price. On average, NRG buildings come in around $400–$550 a year below it for a typical household. If your building isn’t on an embedded network, ask your strata manager or Owners Corporation about a free building review with The NRG Company.