Cheap Electricity in Victoria and Melbourne: How to Compare Properly

Many energy comparison sites only compare a limited number of plans or they make basic assumptions about your usage usually based on an average or typical household usage profile. That’s ok, and can give you an indication of who to choose, but if you want a more accurate comparison it might be worth the 30 seconds to use GloBird Energy’s free bill compare tool. It allows the user to enter their current bill amounts and usage and see how much the exact same bill would cost with GloBird.

Even better you don’t need to enter your name or contact number, so no sales calls or pressure. GloBird are pretty open about the fact that you shouldn’t join them unless they can save you heaps. So let the dollars do the talking or check out the range of innovative energy plans that might suit the way you use energy.

 

How Electricity Pricing Works in Victoria

Victoria is the one state in the National Electricity Market that doesn’t use the federal Default Market Offer used in NSW, South East Queensland, and South Australia. Instead, an independent regulator, the Essential Services Commission (ESC), sets Victoria’s own benchmark price each year the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) separately for each of the state’s five electricity distribution zones.

What Is the Victorian Default Offer?

The VDO is a government-set reference price that caps standing offer contracts and gives every retailer’s market offer a benchmark to be compared against.

What Are Victoria’s Five Distribution Zones?

Victoria’s electricity network is split into five distribution zones, and both your VDO reference price and the market offers available to you depend on which one you’re in:

• CitiPower  Melbourne’s CBD and inner suburbs, serving around 295,000–310,000 customers depending on the source and date.
• Powercor  Melbourne’s western suburbs and central/western Victoria, including Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong; Victoria’s largest distributor by customer numbers.
• United Energy  Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula, serving roughly 640,000–676,000 customers.
• AusNet Services  Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs and eastern Victoria, including the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges, and Gippsland.
• Jemena Melbourne’s north-western metropolitan region, serving around 285,000 homes and businesses.

Your distribution zone is shown on your current electricity bill it’s a different business from your retailer, and it doesn’t change when you switch retailers, only which reference price and network charges apply to your address.

Check GloBird’s current electricity and gas options and applicable fact sheets for your address.

Concessions and Rebates for Victorian Households

Victoria offers some of the more generous state-based energy concessions in Australia, and they apply regardless of which retailer you’re with, provided you hold an eligible concession card.

Annual Electricity Concession

Eligible Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, or DVA Gold Card holders can receive a 17.5% concession on domestic mains electricity usage and service costs, applied year-round and calculated after any retailer discounts and solar credits have already been deducted. You register your concession card details directly with your electricity retailer to receive it.

Utility Relief Grant Scheme

For Victorians facing a temporary financial crisis  such as a sudden drop in income or unexpected essential costs  the Utility Relief Grant Scheme (URGS) provides a one-off grant of up to $650 per utility type (up to $1,300 for a single-source household) to help pay an overdue electricity or gas bill, available once every two years per energy type.

How to Compare Electricity Plans in Victoria

•   Check which of the five distribution zones you’re in  it’s on your current bill.
•   Use the VDO for your zone as a benchmark, not a plan to necessarily choose.
•   Compare the daily supply charge and usage rate directly rather than the headline discount percentage.
•   Check the feed-in tariff rate directly if you have solar, since Victoria no longer has a regulated minimum solar feed-in tariff.
•   Confirm whether you’re eligible for the Annual Electricity Concession and have it registered with your retailer.
•   Use Victorian Energy Compare, the state government’s free comparison tool, to check real offers for your address.
•   Confirm whether any discount is conditional on direct debit or paying on time, and what happens if you miss a payment.

Why This Matters for Comparing Plans

GloBird has a documented history of industry awards from WeMoney, Finder, and Mozo, including 2026 recognitions for value gas and best energy retailer in Victoria specifically  a useful, verifiable signal alongside the rate comparison above, since awards come from an external body applying its own criteria rather than a retailer’s own marketing claim.

Cheap Electricity Victoria: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Victorian Default Offer?

The VDO is a benchmark electricity price set annually by the Essential Services Commission for Victoria’s five distribution zones. It acts as a reference price and a price cap for standing offer customers.

Is GloBird Energy available across all of Victoria?

GloBird lists all five Victorian electricity distributors  AusNet, CitiPower, Powercor, United Energy, and Jemena  as networks it operates across.

Does GloBird have exit fees in Victoria?

No. GloBird’s plans have no lock-in contracts and no exit fees, consistent across all the states it operates in.

How does the VDO change over time?

The Victorian Default Offer is reviewed and reset periodically, so the benchmark can move up or down over time. Check the Essential Services Commission’s current VDO information when comparing plans rather than relying on an older annual figure.

What awards has GloBird won for its Victorian plans?

GloBird’s 2026 awards include “Best for Value Gas – VIC” and “Australia’s Best Energy Retailer – Electricity – VIC” from Finder and WeMoney, alongside a broader history of Finder and Mozo recognitions dating back to 2017.

What concessions can reduce my Victorian electricity bill?

Eligible concession card holders can receive the Annual Electricity Concession (17.5% off usage and service costs) and, in cases of financial hardship, a Utility Relief Grant of up to $650 per utility.

Comparing Your Own Victorian Electricity Rate

Once you know your distribution zone and the current VDO benchmark, comparing cheap electricity Melbourne offers becomes straightforward. See GloBird’s current Victorian rates for your address by clicking “get quote” here www.globirdenergy.com.au or call 133 456.