Energy Locals review

Energy Locals has over 46,000 customers in Australia. Here's what you need to know before deciding whether to switch to Energy Locals.

CHOICE staff

Last updated: 09 February 2023

Energy Locals sells electricity to over 46,000 households, or just under 0.49% of Australia's residential customers, according to 2021–22 figures.

It joined the Australian market in 2016 and claims to offer carbon offsets, solar feed in tariffs and smart meter installation and operation. It's also one of the few energy retailers that has a fixed fee membership that claims to give you the cheapest usage rates.

On this page:

Which states does Energy Locals supply?
CHOICE Expert Rating on Energy Locals
CHOICE verdict on Energy Locals
Energy Locals energy sources

Energy Locals is an Australian owned retailer with headquarters, and call centres, in Richmond and Melbourne respectively. It partners with and enables a number of community renewable energy initiatives including Manilla Solar, Indigo Power and CoPower. It has a strong orientation towards renewables.

The company does not own any power generation plants, it buys its power from power stations and sells it on.

Contact details for Energy Locals

energylocals.com.au

1300 693 637

Which states does Energy Locals supply?

CHOICE Expert Rating on Energy Locals

CHOICE verdict on Energy Locals

Environmental

Energy Locals is a well-rated energy retailer in the Green Electricity Guide, with 8 stars out of 10.
It has a strong position against investing in fossil fuels, though it also buys energy from markets where coal still dominates.
Energy Locals' export prices for solar are above state averages.
It does not promote energy efficiency and is not involved in demand management/response programs.

Customer service

471 (or 1%) of Energy Locals' customers lodged complaints against the company in 2021–22.
40% of calls made to Energy Locals are answered within 30 seconds. This is a notable decrease from the 73% of calls in 2019–20.
The average wait time is 78 seconds, slightly more than the wait time of 62 seconds in 2020–21.
28.2% of callers hang up before their call is answered, much higher than the 5.8% in 2020–21.

Energy Locals energy sources

We have found references to Energy Locals' use of a bio generator (Cape Byron Power) that uses waste to generate power, but we couldn't locate a comprehensive breakdown of the mix of energy sources that Energy Locals uses for all power generation.

Green Electricity score

This score is based on the company's Green Electricity Guide star rating.

Complaints score

This score is based on the number of complaints measured as a proportion against the number of customers. The higher the percentage, the better. Data via the Australian Energy Regulator – updated annually.

Call response score

This score is based on how likely the retailer is to answer a call within 30 seconds. The higher the percentage, the better. Data via the Australian Energy Regulator – updated annually.

November 2019 – South Australia household batteries keeps lights on in Queensland after coal unit fails – The South Australia government and the Australian Energy Market Operator have hailed the success of the state's solar and battery virtual power plant, after it came to the rescue during an unexpected coal power outage in Queensland last month.

May 2019 – Bring on the energy 'big sticks', says electricity company – While most energy companies have urged the re-elected Scott Morrison government to back off its 'big sticks' plans to drive down power prices, one electricity retailer says they cannot come soon enough.

March 2019 – '10 years late': Calls mount for greater watchdog bite in power sector – Attempts to rein-in excessive clout by major companies in the power sector are "10 years too late", one of the biggest employer groups has said, as calls mount for the market watchdog to be given more bite.

February 2019 – Origin forecasts $44m hit from regulated power price – The government's push to lower power bills by regulating electricity prices looks set to cost energy companies more than $100 million from next financial year.

We care about accuracy. See something that's not quite right in this article? Let us know or read more about fact-checking at CHOICE.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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