Retail pricing and the Default Market Offer

Default Market Offer

The Default Market Offer (DMO) is an electricity price safety net that protects consumers from unjustifiably high prices and applies to household and small business customers, on standard retail plans, in South Australia, New South Wales and south-east Queensland.

Our role is to determine the maximum price that a retailer can charge a standing offer customer each year. We set these price caps annually and they apply to small business and residential customers on standing offer tariffs in areas where there is no other retail price regulation.

The DMO price for each area also acts as a ‘reference price’. When advertising or promoting offer pricing, retailers must show the price of their offer in comparison to the DMO reference price. This aims to help customers more simply compare the price of different offers.

Retail pricing 

Our Retail Pricing Information Guidelines prescribe how retailers must present their standing offer plan prices and market offer plan prices to customers.

The main reason for this is to assist residential and small business customers when they consider and compare the prices of the different plans from retailers.

Under the Guidelines, retailers must have available two documents for each of their plans:

• a Basic Plan Information Document (BPID)
• a Detailed Plan Information Document (DPID)

These documents summarise key information for customers including:

• the unit price for electricity and gas under the offer and how this may be varied by the retailer
• the daily supply charge that is applicable
• key fees that may be charged such as account establishment fees, exit fees, late payment fees, disconnection and reconnection fees and payment processing fees
• discounts and incentives available such as loyalty incentives or discounts, one-off discounts, pay on time and other contingent discounts, dual fuel discounts and direct debit discounts
• the length of the contract
• how to get the full terms and conditions of the contract
• the retailer’s contact details
• a reference to the AER’s price comparison website Energy Made Easy .

Retailers must use the plan documents when they present, market or advertise pricing information to customers and have a copy of the BPID on their website or available to send to customers on request.