How to compare business electricity quotes, the 9-point checklist

A retailer hands you a quote. The headline rate looks sharp. You sign.

Six months later you realise the supply charge was $1.40/day, the demand rate had a hidden minimum, and the contract had a price-step clause kicking in at month 13. The “sharp” quote was 12% above market once everything stacked up.

This happens constantly. Two quotes can look near-identical at headline level and end up $4,000-15,000/year apart on a real bill. The gap lives in nine specific line items quotes don’t make obvious.

This guide is the checklist we use on every comparison sheet we put in front of a client.

What you’ll get out of reading this:

• The 9 line items to compare side-by-side on any business electricity quote
• What “good” looks like for each one in 2026 Brisbane conditions
• The 6 red flags that should make you walk away
• How to read between the lines on retailer-friendly clauses
• A practical worked example showing how a “cheaper” quote ends up more expensive

If you’ve got two or more quotes in hand and want them compared properly: forward them to hello@smartaswitch.com.au and we’ll build the comparison sheet for free. No commitment.

The 30-second version

Compare any two energy quotes on these 9 things, in this order:

1. Energy rate (c/kWh), flat or peak/off-peak/shoulder split
2. Supply charge (c/day), fixed daily fee from the retailer
3. Demand rate ($/kVA/month), only if you’re on a demand tariff
4. Contract term length (months)
5. Exit fees, what happens if you leave early
6. Indexation / price-step clauses, does the rate change mid-contract?
7. Service fees + add-ons, anything beyond the four price lines
8. Cooling-off + cancellation terms, your safety net
9. The retailer’s commercial credibility, financial health, customer service, complaint rates

A “cheap” quote that wins on energy rate but loses on supply charge, indexation, and exit fees can easily cost more than a “boring” quote that’s fair on all 9.

1. Energy rate (c/kWh)

This is the headline number. The cents-per-kilowatt-hour rate your retailer charges for the electricity itself.

What to compare:

• If both quotes are flat-rate: just compare the two numbers, easy.
• If one is flat and one is time-of-use (peak/off-peak/shoulder): you need to model your actual usage against both. A time-of-use quote with cheap off-peak rates is great if your business runs overnight; terrible if you’re peak-heavy (cafe, retail, gym).
• If both are time-of-use: compare each window separately. Don’t average them, the weighting depends on your specific load shape.

What “good” looks like in 2026 Brisbane:

• SME flat rate: 24–32 c/kWh
• SME peak: 28–38 c/kWh
• SME off-peak: 14–22 c/kWh
• SME shoulder: 22–30 c/kWh
• C&I (above 100 MWh/year): much sharper, 14–25 c/kWh range depending on volume

Outside these ranges (on the high side) = quote isn’t competitive.

2. Supply charge (c/day)

The fixed daily fee from the retailer, regardless of how much you use. Easy to overlook. Easy place for a retailer to bury margin.

A 15c/day vs a 65c/day supply charge = $182/year difference on a single site. Across a 12-site portfolio = $2,184/year.

What “good” looks like:

• SME small: 20–60 c/day (combined network + retailer supply)
• SME medium: 60–150 c/day
• C&I: 150–500 c/day depending on connection type

If a quote shows the supply charge separated into “network supply” + “retailer supply” and the retailer supply is over 50c/day on a small site, push back. The retailer is stacking margin on a charge you assumed was network-set.

3. Demand rate ($/kVA/month)

Only relevant if you’re on a demand-billed tariff (usually sites above ~100 MWh/year, see our demand charges guide).

Two components to compare:

• The retailer’s mark-up over the network rate, typically $0.50–$3.00/kVA/month above network
• Whether it’s flat or escalating, some contracts have demand rates that step up at month 13 or 25

What “good” looks like: flat pass-through (network rate + a small flat retailer margin, typically $1/kVA or less).

What’s bad: escalating demand rates, or “premium demand pricing” that’s not flat.

On a small commercial demand site, the difference between a sharp and a default demand rate can be $400-800/year. On a C&I site: $8,000-25,000/year.

4. Contract term length

Three standard options: 12, 24, or 36 months. Sometimes 6 or 60 if pushed.

The trade-off:

• 12 months: minimum lock-in, maximum flexibility to rebid. Best when wholesale markets are falling. Worst when they’re rising.
• 24 months: the sweet spot for most SMEs. Long enough to amortize the switching effort, short enough to rebid before markets move significantly.
• 36 months: cheapest published rates (retailers pay for the certainty) but you’re locked in if markets drop.

If a retailer offers a 36-month rate that’s not meaningfully cheaper than their 24-month rate, take the 24. The extra year of lock-in isn’t worth the small price gap.

5. Exit fees

What happens if you want to leave early? Three flavours:

• No exit fee: rare but exists, especially on shorter SME contracts. Best for flexibility.
• Fixed dollar exit fee: e.g. “$2,500 if you leave before month 18.” Predictable.
• Liquidated damages clause: “you pay the difference between your contract rate and the wholesale spot price for the remaining months.” Worst, exposure is unlimited and depends on market movement.

Red flag: liquidated damages clauses on 36-month contracts. If wholesale prices fall 20% mid-contract, you can owe tens of thousands to leave. Avoid these unless the contract pricing is exceptional.

6. Indexation / price-step clauses

Some contracts have rates that change mid-contract. Three patterns to watch for:

• CPI indexation: rate moves with inflation. Acceptable if capped at a maximum movement per year.
• Wholesale indexation: rate moves with AEMO spot prices. Risky on long contracts. Acceptable only with a cap.
• Price steps: fixed rate increases at predefined months (e.g. month 13, 25). Worst kind, your rate jumps without market reason.

Always ask: “is this a fixed-rate contract for the full term, or are there any rate change mechanisms?” Get the answer in writing.

If a quote with a stepped rate looks cheaper than a flat-rate quote, calculate the average rate across the whole term, not just the year-1 rate. The flat quote often wins.

7. Service fees + add-ons

Some retailers stack additional fees beyond the four core price lines:

• Metering charges: pass-through from network, usually $1-3/month. Non-negotiable.
• Carbon offset/GreenPower premium: only if opted-in.
• Paper bill fee: $1-3/month if you don’t go paperless. Worth opting in.
• Late payment fee: usually negotiable to nil for established customers.
• Account management fee / Service fee: rare on commercial, sometimes present on enterprise contracts. Negotiable.
• Direct debit fee vs direct debit discount: some retailers charge $5/month for non-DD payment; others discount 1-2% for DD. Worth asking.

Add up all the fees on each quote. A $30/month “service fee” turns a quoted 25c/kWh into effectively 26-27c/kWh for a small site.

8. Cooling-off + cancellation terms

Australian commercial energy contracts have 10 business days of cooling-off under NERR (National Energy Retail Rules). Some retailers extend this to 14 or 21 days as a goodwill gesture.

Things to confirm in writing:

• Cooling-off start date (signature date, or service start date?)
• Cancellation method during cooling-off (email, phone, or formal letter?)
• What happens to data the retailer has gathered if you cancel
• Whether they’ll refund any prepaid amounts

The cooling-off window is your safety net. Don’t skip reading the cancellation clause.

9. Retailer credibility

The cheapest quote from a retailer with poor service costs more in the long run.

Quick checks:

• AER (Australian Energy Regulator) complaint count: published quarterly. High complaint rates = problematic retailer. Avoid.
• Trustpilot / Google reviews: not authoritative but indicative for SME customer service.
• Ombudsman case load: EWOQ publishes annual reports listing retailers with the most disputes.
• Financial stability: very small retailers occasionally fail (the “[retailer of last resort]” event happens 1-2× a year in Australia). Sticking with established retailers reduces this risk.
• Account management quality: ask how the retailer handles mid-contract issues (billing disputes, meter data corrections, change-of-tenancy). Some are great; some are awful.

A sharp quote from a retailer with terrible service usually evens out within 12 months.

The 6 red flags, walk away if you see any of these

1. “Limited time” pressure to sign within 48 hours. Honest pricing doesn’t expire that fast. Always slow down.
2. No written quote, verbal only. Get every detail in writing or the quote is meaningless.
3. Bonus offers (“first 3 months free”) that aren’t reflected in the per-kWh contract price. Bonuses on top of bad rates are not deals.
4. “Trust me, the demand rate is pass-through” without it being explicitly stated in the contract. If it’s not in writing, it isn’t real.
5. Termination clauses pointing to “schedule A” without including schedule A. Always read every referenced schedule before signing.
6. Refusal to disclose broker commission. Any broker who won’t tell you the dollar amount their retailer’s paying them on this deal is hiding something.

Worked example, the “cheaper” quote that wasn’t

A Brisbane medical clinic, 220 MWh/year, demand tariff. Two quotes:

Quote A looked cheaper on year 1 by $1,400. Over the full contract: Quote B was sharper by $8,000+ AND gave the clinic the option to rebid market in year 3.

The lesson: never compare quotes on year-1 headline cost. Compare the full term, with all clauses and steps factored in.

Multi-site comparisons

If you’re comparing tender responses for multiple sites:

• Aggregate the total annual cost per retailer across all sites, not per-site
• Confirm whether the rates are portfolio-aggregate (all sites get one rate) or site-specific (each site rated to its own load shape)
• Push for site-specific pricing on portfolios above 1 GWh/year, usually 5-12% sharper
• Add the comparison of retailer flexibility to add/remove sites mid-contract

See our multi-site guide for the full tender process.

Common questions

Should I always pick the cheapest quote?
No. The cheapest quote that has weak exit terms, indexation, or poor retailer service rarely ends up cheapest by year 2.

What if the quotes are all from the same broker?
Ask for the commission disclosure on each. Honest brokers will share the dollar amount they earn on each retailer option. If the broker recommends a specific retailer that happens to pay them the highest commission, that’s a flag.

Should I get quotes from multiple brokers?
For SME sites: one good broker is usually enough. For C&I sites above 1 GWh/year: getting two brokers to tender (in separate processes) can be worth it, sometimes one broker has stronger relationships with specific retailers.

Can I negotiate after the quote arrives?
Yes. Almost every retailer will sharpen by 2-8% if pushed with a competing offer. We do this on every comparison.

How long should comparing quotes take?
Initial comparison: 30 minutes if you have all the data. Negotiation back-and-forth: 5-15 business days. Decision: same day after final quotes arrive.

One last thing

Energy quote comparison is the single highest-ROI activity in business overhead management. An hour spent comparing quotes properly typically saves more than a week of cost-cutting elsewhere.

If you’ve got two or more quotes in hand and want them compared cleanly: send them to hello@smartaswitch.com.au. We’ll build the side-by-side comparison sheet using the 9-point checklist above, in writing, within 24 hours. Free, no obligation, paid by the winning retailer if you switch.

Joe Lawrence, Co-founder, Smarta Switch Australia
0435 642 592 · joe@smartaswitch.com.au