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Most households pick an energy retailer once and rarely revisit the decision, assuming the relationship stays fair over time. Often, it doesn’t. Retailers set their pricing and discount structures within the rules the regulator allows, and a plan that looks competitive when signed can quietly stop working in your favour without any single dramatic change.
The good news is you don’t need deep knowledge of energy markets to check whether your retailer is still doing its job. A few simple checks will usually tell you. Whether you’re reviewing an existing plan or comparing an option, such as Alinta Energy, with your current retailer, the same signals apply.
Check Whether You’ve Rolled Onto a Standing Offer
Most market contracts have a fixed benefit period, often 12 months. Once that period ends, retailers aren’t always required to proactively re-sign you onto a new competitive deal. Some contracts roll onto a standing offer, which is typically priced at or near the Default Market Offer (DMO). The DMO sets the maximum for most standing offer tariffs in that region. A retailer working in your favour should make it easy to check this status, and the contract end date should be visible on your bill or in your account portal without having to call.
Compare Your Plan’s Rate Against the Current Benchmark
The DMO is reset every July and acts as a reference price for the whole market in NSW, South East Queensland, and South Australia. You can check your plan’s rates against this benchmark using the plan’s Energy Price Fact Sheet. If a market plan sits close to or above the DMO, the “discount” being advertised may not be delivering much real value anymore.
A few quick signals to check on any bill:
- Whether the contract has a listed end date or benefit period expiry
- Whether your current rate sits above or below the DMO for your region
- Whether feed-in tariffs (if you have solar) have changed recently
- Whether the daily supply charge has increased since the plan started
See How Complaints and Enquiries Are Actually Handled
Retailers usually publish their customer service commitments, and they’re worth checking against your experience. Many publish target response times, such as aiming to resolve phone enquiries on first contact or to respond to emails within a set number of business days. If your own experience differs significantly from those targets, that’s worth noting. It’s also worth knowing that unresolved disputes can be escalated to the Energy and Water Ombudsman in each state, which handles complaints independently of the retailer once internal processes have been exhausted.
Look at How Solar Feed-In Tariffs and Off-Peak Windows Move
For solar households, state regulators review feed-in tariffs annually and can adjust them independently of the DMO. In NSW, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) sets a voluntary benchmark range each year, which sat at 3.4c to 6.5c per kWh for 2026-27. Retailers aren’t required to stay within that range, and actual rates vary widely. Some retailers cut or removed their flat-rate feed-in tariffs entirely from 1 July 2026, while others offered rates well above the benchmark, up to 10c per kWh in some cases.
A high advertised feed-in tariff is a useful signal, but it isn’t the whole picture. The usage rate and daily supply charge on a plan usually have a bigger impact on the total bill than the export rate alone, particularly for households that use a large share of their solar generation rather than exporting it. A retailer working in your favour should make the full cost breakdown easy to compare, not just the headline export rate.
The same applies to time-of-use windows. If peak pricing periods expand without clear notice, your bills can rise even when the advertised rate hasn’t technically changed.
The Bottom Line
A retailer that still works in your favour makes its pricing, contract terms, and any changes easy to find and understand-without a phone call. If checking a bill starts to feel like guesswork, it’s worth comparing your current plan against the DMO and at least one alternative offer to see whether the relationship still holds up.
Speak with our team if you’d like help reviewing your current plan or comparing alternatives.