“Confusing” is the best word to describe how I felt about choosing my gas and electricity supplier. Ever since arriving in Australia every time I moved home I had this choice to make, and quite frankly, I had no idea who to choose. I didn’t always know there was a whole list of companies to choose from, sometimes I thought there was just one company that is responsible for supplying gas and electricity in my particular area. Sometimes I thought there were two companies, one responsible for electricity and the other – for gas.
So, for everybody out there who is just as confused as I was, here is how the Energy Industry works in Australia.
There are 3 types of companies involved. First, there are Generators. These are the folks who produce electricity from coal, sun or wind. Second, there are Distributors. They own and manage the poles, wires and pipes that deliver electricity and gas to our homes, and also the meters. Third, there are Retailers (or Suppliers). These are the companies that buy electricity and gas from Generators and sell it to us.
When people living in the same house switch to a different energy retailer, their distributor doesn’t change. Simply put, the gas and the electricity will be supplied just the same, no matter what company bills you for the usage. You only get to choose your energy retailer – not your distributor.
Since every energy retailer has their own agreement with the generator and their own business strategy, the plans and offers of various retailers are different. This is why it makes sense to compare different offers and choose the one that is best for you, in your current situation.
The offers differ in terms of price, whether or not they lock you in a contract and for how long. Also, different companies may charge different exit fees. To choose your energy retailer one possible way is to visit this government website. It allows to easily compare tariffs of various retailers. Another option is to use other (non-government) websites such as GoSwitch.
You will be asked to enter your approximate usage and based on that the search engine will find offers that are suitable for you.
Make sure you read the full offer of the selected retailer carefully and understand all the details, the devil is always in the fine print 
