Home battery uptake continues to surge with more than 400,000 batteries installed across Australia in past 12 months, but energy‑specific consumer protection reforms are needed to address a range of emerging issues, the ACCC's latest Electricity Market Inquiry report reveals.
The report found households with solar and battery systems had electricity bills that were between about $329 and $909 (20-52 per cent) lower over the course of a year compared to customers using electricity from the grid only.
Savings were even greater for the 24 per cent of solar and battery customers participating in virtual power plants, with bills typically $762 to $1,093 (57-63 per cent) lower.
A virtual power plant is an energy service where individual sources of generation from different locations, such as home batteries, are aggregated and controlled by a central operator.
"Households that have invested in batteries are achieving significant savings, particularly when their battery is connected to a virtual power plant," ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
"Virtual power plants can help households get more from their battery by shifting energy use away from peak periods and sending it back to the grid when it is most valuable. This can help customers lower bills and pay off their system faster."
The report, however, highlights that virtual power plants are complex and customers bear most of the risk for the operator's performance and whether benefits are achieved.
"When customers join a virtual power plant, they hand over control of their battery to an operator and are rewarded for its use to support the broader system. It is important customers understand this when signing up to participate in a virtual power plant," Ms Brakey said.
"Depending on their circumstances, some households may be better off with solar and a battery alone. Customers should make sure they understand the benefits and risks of any product that they sign up to."
Figure 1: Median bills paid by residential virtual power plant and other customers, by region, excluding Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates, quarter 3 2023 to quarter 3 2025
Source: ACCC analysis of AEMO's Distributed Energy Resource register and retailer billing data. Nominal dollars, excluding GST.
Stronger consumer protections needed
While wider virtual power plant participation could unlock savings for all customers, ACCC analysis shows consumers still face significant risks when investing in solar and batteries.
Consumer reports to the ACCC about household batteries and new energy services have increased by 107 per cent over the past 12 months as the number of systems installed increases rapidly. Reports to other consumer bodies have also similarly increased.
These reports include consumers being sold systems that do not suit their needs, faulty installations, and poor battery performance, with many reporting difficulties when trying to get issues fixed or resolved.
The ACCC is also aware that some consumers are finding it difficult to compare offers and switch providers due to complex contracts and limited compatibility between batteries and virtual power plant products.
"As more Australians invest in batteries and participate in virtual power plants, it's critical that consumer protections keep pace," Ms Brakey said.
"Consumers should be able to easily compare offers, switch providers, and fix issues if things go wrong, but gaps in the current suite of consumer protections are preventing people from being able to do so."
"The New Energy Tech Consumer Code addresses some of the issues identified in this report, but its benefits are limited by factors such as no independent dispute resolution or appeal process, reliance on self-reported audits for compliance, and lack of transparency around breaches," Ms Brakey said.
The ACCC is calling for an overarching consumer duty with supporting electricity-specific protections to ensure products and services are designed and delivered in consumers' interests.
These supporting protections include requiring battery sellers and installers to sign up to a code of conduct to access the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, as well as expanding energy ombuds scheme coverage to resolve more residential and small business disputes.
"We will continue to actively monitor consumer complaints and where issues are able to be addressed under the Australian Consumer Law, we will hold solar and battery installers, retailers and suppliers accountable," Ms Brakey said.
Background
The National Electricity Market is comprised of South East Queensland, New South Wales (including the ACT), Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are not connected to the National Electricity Market.
To inform this report, the ACCC collected billing data from nine retailers that together cover 89 per cent of residential customers and 88 per cent of small business customers in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and South East Queensland.
The ACCC obtained additional data for customers on virtual power plant services.
In 2018, the Australian Government directed the ACCC to hold an inquiry into the prices, profits and margins in relation to the supply of electricity in the National Electricity Market.
On 12 May 2026, the Australian Government announced a further 12-month extension to the inquiry.
The ACCC is required to report at least every 6 months. This is the 15th time the ACCC has reported as part of this inquiry.
The report is available on the ACCC's website at Electricity market monitoring 2018-2026.
The next report is scheduled for December 2026.
