Trust the elephant in the room

Households are fed up with the energy market and hold a significant amount of distrust towards regulators and energy companies as concern about energy costs remains high. 

National Seniors Australia’s 2026 social survey found that people relying on the Age Pension (or other government income streams) were most concerned about being able to afford power over the next 12 months. 

It’s a significant problem because it undermines investment needed to enhance the energy system. 

Cost and trust were significant themes that ran through a conference in Sydney, organised by Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) and attended by consumer advocates, industry and government, including NSA. 

The conference discussed how Australia could accelerate the shift to an energy system that is affordable, clean and reliable by highlighting projects that support industry and households. 

It comes as unprecedented changes occur to the way energy is produced, transported, and consumed, including the rapid rise of rooftop solar and other renewables, the roll-out of smart meters and, with them, fundamental changes to the way electricity bills work. 

NSA has been engaging in debates about smart meters and the cost-reflective tariffs they enable, warning government and industry to ensure that consumer protections exist so older people do not experience bill shock. 

At the conference, Dr Brendon Radford, NSA Director of Policy and Research, spoke on a panel of other consumer advocates about the need for energy companies and regulators to act in ways that build trust with consumers. 

He spoke about examples where older people experienced negative impacts from the actions of regulators and industry and how this undermines trust in the energy sector. 

Mr Radford argued that older consumers already find it difficult to navigate complex and confusing retail markets, including the government’s dysfunctional Energy Made Easy comparison website. 

As a recent ECA survey found, only 43% of consumers trust electricity companies to do the right thing by their customers, which is appallingly low.  

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Is more choice the answer?

With the roll-out of smart meters exposing households to more complexity and choice, Mr Radford called on regulators and industry to adopt innovations that simplify the retail market, going against the grain of conventional arguments that claim more choice and competition is the answer to drive down prices. 

“We can’t keep doing the same thing hoping it will get better. That’s the definition of insanity. What we need is an acknowledgement that increasing complexity is not in the interests of all many households who are already burdened by complexity to the benefit of retailers,” he said. 

“Older people shouldn’t have to continually shop around to get a good deal on energy if they can’t (because of digital literacy) or don’t want to (because it’s too hard/risky to do so). 

“If they do want to shop around, it should be easy to select an energy plan that meets someone’s need and doesn’t result in bill shock – but unfortunately that is where we are heading unless regulators tighten the reins on the market.” 

As guest speaker, the former Premier of Queensland and head of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh, noted, if industry wants to avoid more regulation, they must operate in ways that show they are acting in the best interests of customers, as the banks did to regain trust after the Banking Royal Commission. 

NSA believes that a good start would be to withdraw the hundreds of incomprehensible plans that make it nigh on impossible to choose an electricity plan. 

The second is to adopt a hybrid tariff that gives customers access to ongoing price comparison and protection when choosing a plan with complex time-of-use tariffs (see the break-out box, above, for more information on how this would work). 

If the cost of electricity and consumer protections are concern to you, please join our Energy Affordability campaign here.