AGL Energy Rates: Electricity Prices, Usage Charges & Ways to Save
Every AGL bill comes down mainly to two charges. You pay for each kilowatt-hour you use, plus a Daily Supply Charge whether you’re home or away. Typical AGL energy rates vary by address, distributor, tariff, meter and plan, so the figures in this article are a guide rather than a quote. Check the current BPID, Victorian Energy Fact Sheet or your bill for the rate that applies to you.
This guide covers where those numbers come from, how the plans compare, and what shifts the total.
Quick Answer
There is no single AGL electricity price that is cheapest for every household. To compare AGL energy rates, consider the usage rate per kWh alongside the Daily Supply Charge, tariff structure and estimated annual cost. Single-rate plans charge the same usage rate throughout the day, while Time-of-Use plans vary by period. The best comparison is based on your own address and electricity usage pattern.
What Are AGL Energy Rates?
An AGL bill carries two charges that behave nothing alike. The daily supply charge pays for the connection and ticks over every day. The usage charge depends on how much electricity you use. That’s the part you have more control over.
Rates change from postcode to postcode because the poles and wires in your street belong to a distribution network, and each network has different charges. The table below gives typical, indicative residential ranges in AGL’s main service areas; check the plan document for your address before relying on them.
AGL Electricity Rates by State / Region
State / Region | Distribution Network Used for Example | General Usage Rate (inc. GST) | Daily Supply Charge (inc. GST) |
New South Wales | Ausgrid | 33.14c/kWh | 166.19c/day |
Victoria | CitiPower | 25.96c/kWh | 121.14c/day |
South East Queensland | Energex | 27.97c/kWh | 192.02c/day |
South Australia | SA Power Networks | 41.91c/kWh | 180.05c/day |
Note: The rates above are examples from AGL’s residential single-rate standing offers effective from 1 July 2026 and include GST. Actual electricity rates vary by address, distribution network, energy plan, tariff and meter type. Enter your postcode on AGL’s Energy Fact Sheets page and check the applicable Basic Plan Information Document (BPID) or Victorian Energy Fact Sheet for rates available at your property.
How Does AGL Calculate Electricity Usage Charges?
What you pay comes down to the meter, the tariff on your plan and how much the house draws. Some plans hold one rate all day. Others break it into peak, shoulder and off-peak blocks.
Basic electricity bill formula:
Electricity bill = (Electricity usage in kWh × Usage rate per kWh) + (Number of billing days × Daily Supply Charge)
For example, if a household uses 450 kWh over 90 days, with a usage rate of 30c/kWh and a Daily Supply Charge of $1.50/day:
Usage charge: 450 × $0.30 = $135
Supply charge: 90 × $1.50 = $135
Estimated electricity bill: $135 + $135 = $270
This is a basic single-rate estimate. Time-of-Use and controlled load tariffs require usage at different rates to be calculated separately, while other applicable charges or credits can also affect the final bill.
Single Rate Tariffs
Single rate tariffs—flat rates, or anytime rates—charge one general usage price per kilowatt-hour whenever you use electricity, so the kettle at breakfast costs the same per kilowatt-hour as the dishwasher after nine. Your bill still moves with how much you use, while supply and any other applicable charges remain. If you work from home or use appliances throughout the day, a flat rate may suit you, but compare it with the available TOU offer using your own usage pattern.
Time-of-Use Tariffs: Peak, Shoulder and Off-Peak Rates
Time-of-Use periods vary by distribution network and tariff, but generally divide electricity use into:
Peak: Higher-priced periods when network demand is typically greatest.
Shoulder: Intermediate-priced periods used on some tariffs.
Off-Peak: Lower-priced periods outside peak demand times.
Living on a TOU plan means watching the clock. Start the washing machine at 6.30pm while dinner’s on and the reverse-cycle is fighting the February heat, and you’re paying the distributor’s steepest rate for the lot. For suitable plug-in loads, a portable power station can shift when some grid energy is purchased, although charging losses, equipment cost and the tariff affect any saving.
Check Controlled Load Electricity Charges
Some high-draw appliances don’t run off your general tariff at all. Underfloor heating, pool pumps and electric hot water storage tanks are often wired to their own circuit and meter, an arrangement the bill lists as Controlled Load 1 or 2. You get a much lower rate, because the distributor, not you, chooses when the circuit runs, usually in the small hours. Check your bill to make sure the hot water’s actually on that cheaper rate, not quietly charged at your main tariff. That one line explains a lot of high bills.
How Can You Compare AGL Electricity Plans?
Plan names change and discounts expire, so the offer on the page rarely tells you which option costs less over a year. Put the daily supply charge, the estimated annual cost, the conditions on the discount and the usage rate side by side and the picture sorts itself out.
Compare Usage Rates and Supply Charges
A plan that leads with a cheap usage rate can claw some of the saving back with a higher Daily Supply Charge. In a small apartment or low-use home, the daily charge can outweigh a small saving in the unit rate. In a higher-use home, trimming cents off each kilowatt-hour may matter more. Compare both charges using your own annual usage. If you are assessing a battery energy storage system, also include the peak-to-off-peak price difference, cycling losses and equipment cost.
Check the Estimated Annual Cost
Where a plan document gives you an estimated annual cost, it can be a useful comparison figure, folding the fixed daily charge and usage costs into one number you can compare across plans. But treat it as a guide rather than a forecast of what your household will actually pay. The estimate is based on set usage assumptions, while your own cost will depend on how much electricity you use, when you use it, your tariff, and any discounts, credits or other charges that apply.
Compare Plans With the Reference Price
In New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia, retailers have to show how their offers compare with the Default Market Offer (DMO), also known as the Reference Price. Victoria runs its own version, the Victorian Default Offer (VDO). So when AGL says a plan is a certain percentage below the Reference Price, that shows how the offer compares with the regulated benchmark for a representative customer. To work out your own saving, compare the plan’s rates and estimated annual cost with what you’re paying now.
How Can You Reduce Your AGL Electricity Costs?
Reducing your bill doesn’t always mean using less electricity. Depending on the tariff you’re on, running certain appliances at a different hour, or drawing on stored energy while rates are high, can cut what you pay the grid.
Shift Electricity Use to Lower-Rate Periods
If your household is on a Time-of-Use plan, the delay button is the cheapest tool you own. Dishwashers, pool filtration systems and washing machines all have delay timers, and running them during your plan’s off-peak window of the morning shifts the heaviest draw of the day into the cheapest window. Pre-cooling helps too: let the reverse-cycle bring the house down before your plan’s peak period begins, then shut the doors, drop the blinds and let it coast. The exact windows vary by tariff and network, so it helps to check your plan’s schedule before shifting loads to off-peak electricity periods.
Store More Solar Energy for Longer Use
If your solar system generates more electricity than you use during the day, a larger battery can store the surplus for later. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra Whole-Home Backup Power is expandable up to 30kWh, allowing you to save more daytime solar energy for compatible household loads in the evening or overnight. This can increase solar self-consumption and reduce the need to buy electricity from the grid when rates are higher.
How Can You Check Your Current AGL Energy Rates?
Rates move once a benefit period finishes or the tariff is updated, so what you signed up for and what you pay now can differ. Your AGL account, your plan documents and your latest bill all carry the current figures.
Review Your Rates in My Account
Log into the AGL app or website and go to “My Account”. Your current plan’s there, with the daily supply charge and your peak, shoulder and off-peak rates all listed. With a smart meter you also get hour-by-hour charts, and they show which hours are costing you the most.
Check the Rates Table on Your Plan
Every retail market contract comes with a standardised Basic Plan Information Document (BPID), or an Energy Fact Sheet if you’re in Victoria. Search the AGL website for your plan name, or follow the plan link in your portal, and the itemised rates table is there: the GST-inclusive figures, how indexation applies, and any feed-in tariff conditions on that product.
Compare Your Rates With Your Bill
Open your most recent AGL tax invoice and find the “Electricity Charges” breakdown on the back page. It lists what you were charged in each block, how many days of daily supply you were billed for, and whether the usage figure came from an actual meter read or an estimate. Put those figures against what’s on offer now and you’ll see whether your pricing has fallen behind. When a bill jumps, estimated reads are often to blame, since the catch-up lands months later—all at once.
Conclusion
Your postcode, local network and chosen plan set the rates you pay. Read the usage rate alongside the daily supply charge, because a plan that looks cheap on one can cost you more on the other. On a Time-of-Use plan, it’s worth moving the jobs that can wait to off-peak hours. Solar with battery storage can help cover those expensive peak hours too. Two households on the same Time-of-Use tariff can use the same amount of electricity and still pay different amounts for it, depending on when they use it.
FAQ
What Does AGL Charge per kWh?
AGL energy rates per kWh vary by postcode, distribution network, electricity plan and tariff, so there isn’t one AGL electricity rate that applies across Australia. Your property may also have a single-rate or Time-of-Use tariff, which changes how usage is priced. To find the current rate for your address, enter your postcode on AGL’s Energy Fact Sheets page or check the BPID, Victorian Energy Fact Sheet or latest bill for your plan.
What Time Is Off-Peak for AGL Electricity Rates?
Off-peak timing differs a good deal between networks. Traditionally it’s meant overnight, often 10pm to 7am, plus weekends, although some networks class weekends as shoulder instead. Plenty of newer smart-meter tariffs add a daytime window as well, typically 10am to 3pm, the so-called solar sponge, when rooftop solar floods the grid and pulls the wholesale cost down. The schedule that applies to you is on your plan’s Energy Fact Sheet, worth reading rather than assuming.
Why Is My AGL Electricity Bill So High?
High bills usually trace back to a seasonal heating or cooling spike, an estimated meter read, or drifting onto an uncompetitive plan after your benefit period ran out. Running the dryer or pool pump during peak hours on a Time-of-Use plan won’t help either.
What Is AGL's Solar Feed-In Tariff?
AGL’s solar feed-in tariff varies by state, electricity plan and, in some cases, time of day. Some plans use tiered export rates, so check your current plan or My Account for the rate that applies to your system.
Which AGL Plan Is Best for Solar?
For households that export a significant amount of solar, a plan such as AGL Solar Savers may be worth comparing because it offers a higher feed-in tariff on eligible exports. Pair it with a battery and export very little, though, and the calculation turns around: plans with cheap daily supply and off-peak discounts can be worth more than a generous export credit you hardly use.