Small businesses on the East Coast may find their electricity bills rising by between 4.2 and 8.2% in the coming months. That’s the big news from a new draft determination by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for electricity prices in 2025-26.
Power is a major outlay for any small business, so a steep rise in prices could have a significant impact on your operating costs and utility expenses.
Let’s take a look at 4 ways you can mitigate these rising electricity costs
Improve your energy efficiency
Talk to your team and raise awareness of energy consumption. Look at ways to reduce electricity usage by turning off equipment when not needed, using power-saving settings and investing in energy-efficient lighting (like LEDs). Simple behavioural changes and upgrades can have a major impact, helping you to become greener and keep costs down.
Invest in renewable energy generation
Look at the options for installing solar panels on your business premises. The upfront cost can often be offset by reduced electricity bills and potential feed-in tariffs for excess energy that’s sold back to the grid. You may even be eligible for government rebates and incentives to help with the initial investment, making it a more viable long-term solution.
Time your operations to maximise cheaper energy
Analyse energy consumption patterns and, where possible, shift your energy-intensive activities to off-peak hours when electricity prices are lower. This might involve scheduling production, running machinery or charging electric vehicles outside of peak demand periods.
Look around for the best energy plans and providers
Regularly review your current electricity contracts and compare offers from other energy providers. The energy market can be competitive, and switching to a plan with lower tariffs, better usage rates, or specific small business deals can lead to significant savings.
Talk to us about your energy costs and how to manage them
With energy and utility costs rising across the board, it’s good practice to keep an eye on your electricity, gas and water expenses. We can help you track your spending, stick to agreed energy budgets and find solutions for reducing the overall costs.
Book a meeting to run through your energy costs and how they could be better managed.