What is the average household electricity usage in Australia?
If you want to reduce your electricity bill, it’s important to understand how your usage compares to that of others. In this case Information is power, literally. A recent report by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) seeks to help consumers compare their usage with the average household.
The AER provided the first electricity benchmarks in December 2011 as part of the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR). From this time Energy retailers have been required to publish consumption benchmarks on a residential customer’s bill. The aim is to better inform customers on their energy efficiency. An updated report was issued in March 2015.
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In 2014, the average household electricity usage in Australia was 5,817 kWh per year. |
For a super fast comparison of electricity suppliers in your state, check out our Australia wide comparison blog entry.
Significant decline in residential consumption since 2011
The 2014 electricity benchmarks suggest that residential consumption has declined in Australia since 2011. The average electricity use of the households who participated in the survey in 2014 was 5,817 kWh per year. This is approximately 12.5 per cent less than those who participated in 2011.
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Average household electricity consumption has decreased by 12.5% from 2011 to 2014. |
Source: ACIL Allen Consulting
What is the average electricity bill in Australia?
We have have used these average household consumption figures and real world electricity rates to calculate the average electricity bill for a household 2014. We estimate the average electricity bill of an Australian household to be $1,690.
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We estimate the average electricity bill in Australia for a household in 2014 was $1,690. |
Usage driven by seasonal consumption patterns
As expected, there is a strong relationship between weather and electricity use. This can be observed in the graph below where we see higher energy use in winter for the majority of jurisdictions; New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria (VIC), and Tasmania (TAS). This is primarily due to increased energy use on heating. For the Northern Territory (NT) the opposite is true. The annual peak is actually in Summer, where air conditioning costs at at their greatest. For South Australia, the Summer and Winter peak are broadly equivalent, and for Queensland (QLD) usage is generally flat across the year. Western Australia (WA) is not included in this analysis.
Source: ACIL Allen Consulting - NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, NT - (Excl. WA)