The Essential Services Commissioon (ESC) has begun engagement on their 2025-26 Victorian Default Offer (VDO) prices with their request for comment paper.
Our joint submission with other consumer advocates highlights the importance of the VDO as a safeguard for consumers that are unable or unwilling to engage with the electricity retail market, and a key benchmark price for market offers.
Read the joint submission (PDF, 235.99KB)
This role is amplified given current cost-of-living pressures and our submission makes several recommendations to ensure it safeguards consumers as best as possible, including:
- Maintain the VDO as a crucial safeguard for consumers who cannot engage with the market, and as a price cap for embedded networks.
- Embed an understanding of the cost of living into all determinations, and consider the impact of decisions on vulnerable customers, as per the ESC’s statutory obligations.
- Select the lowest price estimate whenever there is a range for a component of the VDO price stack, such as the retail margin, or have stated reasons for why the lowest price was not selected.
- Increase transparency on collected retail cost data.
- Examine mechanisms that complement the VDO to create real affordability for low-income households trying to afford an essential service, such as a targeted social tariff for those most in need.
We also submitted a letter from Energy Consumers Australia that acknowledged the need for broader reviews that ensure consumers have access to simple and affordable energy plans.
