In response to CHOICE's designated 'super' complaint on sneaky, confusing energy pricing tactics, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has today announced it will investigate whether energy retailers are misleading consumers by promoting poor value plans as better value than they actually are.
Quotes attributable to Rosie Thomas, Director of Campaigns at CHOICE:
"CHOICE welcomes the ACCC's decision to investigate retailers for potentially breaching the consumer law. This decision is in response to CHOICE's first super complaint, and will help address harmful systemic practices that make it very hard to know if you're being ripped off by your energy company."
"Our complaint highlighted a number of energy plans with names and descriptions including phrases like 'save' or 'saver' that were more expensive than other plans offered by the same retailer. In some instances, they were even more expensive than the retailer's standing offer. Many consumers rely on these representations as indicators of value to inform their decision making, but we found that many of these names and descriptions may not reflect genuine value."
"We chose energy plans for our first super complaint because consumers are very concerned about the cost of electricity. Our latest national survey data shows that 84% of households are concerned about electricity prices, the highest level of concern we've seen since winter 2023."
"Consumers are often encouraged to shop around in order to save on their energy bills, but that's impossible to do if the information they receive from retailers is inaccurate, incomplete or designed to overwhelm."
"It should be easy for consumers to get a fair deal on their energy bills. CHOICE is calling on the ACCC to take strong action against the energy retailers to send a clear message that misleading consumers about savings or value is unacceptable. We are also pleased to see some of the other concerning energy practices CHOICE raised in its complaint will be considered as part of upcoming reviews by the Australian Energy Regulator and Victorian Essential Services Commission."
Read the full designated complaint: https://www.choice.com.au/consumer-advocacy/policy/policy-submissions/2025/may/energy-plans-complaint
Editor's notes:
CHOICE Consumer Pulse June 2025 is based on an online survey designed and analysed by CHOICE. 1,008 Australian households responded to the survey with quotas applied to ensure coverage across all age groups, genders and locations in each state and territory across metropolitan and regional areas. The data was weighted to ensure it is representative of the Australian population based on the 2021 ABS Census data. Fieldwork was conducted in June, 2025.
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