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The Green Electricity Guide is an independent, unbiased ranking of Australia’s electricity providers that makes it easier for consumers to choose a green electricity provider and make the switch.
Information about the electricity providers was collected via a survey sent to the providers, along with publicly available information on their websites and information released by the Clean Energy Regulator (National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting). Additional conversations were held with electricity providers to ensure that the data provided was fair and accurate.
There are 6 ranking criteria:
- Providing clean, renewable energy
- Ending coal use by 2030
- Halting fossil fuel expansion
- Support for new renewable energy
- Transparency of marketing
- Pollution and environmental harm
We also awarded a bonus community provider score to some providers. More information on the criteria and the scoring system can be found in the report here.
You can find the full report here. This includes a spreadsheet which outlines how we calculated each provider's score.
We have ranked all the electricity providers serving the National Electricity Market (NSW, QLD, VIC, ACT, TAS, SA) and WA and the NT where there was enough available data to conduct a fair assessment.
The current version of the guide was launched on 08 February 2022 and is accurate as of that date.
In Australia 76% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels - the dirtiest and most destructive way to generate electricity, fuelling devastating climate change. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With abundant wind and sun, combined with big batteries to store and use energy at night time, Australia has everything it takes to become a renewable energy super power.
Unfortunately, some of Australia’s electricity providers are holding us back. Companies like AGL, Origin and Energy Australia are clinging onto highly polluting coal and gas instead of investing in cleaner, safer, cheaper renewable energy. If dirty electricity providers won’t switch off coal and gas, we can do it for them.
By switching from a provider that invests your money in fossil fuels to one that generates or buys energy from renewables you’re voting with your wallet and sending a signal to Australian energy companies that you want them to get serious about tackling climate change.
Check out our rankings and make the switch today.
Making the switch is easy. Check out our rankings here to see who the best providers are. You can then follow the easy to use switching instructions that we’ve created for all electricity providers that have more than 4 stars. Simply fill in the make the switch form with your details plus the name of the provider you’re switching from and the provider you’re switching too, and we’ll send you personalised instructions.
The Green Electricity Guide does not take electricity prices into account when assessing retailers. Taking a single snapshot of electricity costs is not easy. The National Electricity Market varies price per unit depending on a number of factors, meaning a direct and fair comparison between providers is far from straightforward.
However, as the world moves to renewable energy, the cost of renewable energy is getting cheaper. Solar is now the cheapest form of electricity in history, and renewables will only continue to get cheaper over time.
The cost of fossil fuels however will go up and those providers which continue to rely on fossil fuels will be forced to push these higher costs onto consumers.
The greenest electricity providers are those which are spurring an uptake of renewables and reducing the amount of coal and gas in the electricity they on-sell. When deciding on an electricity provider, it is important that they are transparent, that they invest in renewables and/or support household uptake of solar panels and batteries, that they promote energy efficiency and at times when there is higher renewable energy generation, and that they don’t hold, operate or invest in dirty coal and gas power stations..
You can find out more information about what you should look for by watching the videos on our homepage, or you can check out our full report for even more information.
Many companies use carbon offsetting. This is where they say they’ll make up for carbon emissions through ‘climate-friendly’ projects like planting trees. While planting trees is good, it’s no excuse to keep burning coal!
Greenpeace’s recent report Hero to Zero: Uncovering the truth of corporate Australia’s climate claims showed that carbon offsets can often do more harm than good, by delaying meaningful action on climate change. Carbon offsetting is no substitute for reducing dirty coal and gas use, particularly in the electricity sector where the technology is readily available to make the transition now.
Don’t be fooled by companies offering carbon offsetting. Instead, look for electricity companies that source the majority of their electricity from renewable sources.
GreenPower is a government accredited renewable energy product offered by many electricity providers, whereby consumers can opt in to purchase a certain percentage of renewable energy. While this is a good thing, an even better thing would be for electricity providers to invest heavily in renewable energy themselves, rather than relying just on individual consumers to pay directly for more renewable energy. Afterall, renewable energy continues to get cheaper, so it’s also in the commercial interests of all electricity providers to invest in renewable energy. So feel free to purchase GreenPower, but we also recommend contacting your provider and telling them you’d like them to invest more heavily in renewable energy themselves.
No. The Green Electricity Guide is 100% independent, just like Greenpeace is.
Unlike other electricity provider comparison sites, we don't receive a cent from the electricity providers - or any other corporations. This means you can be sure that the information we’re providing you is fair and unbiased.
Greenpeace operates independently and has assessed all the electricity providers in the guide without bias or endorsement. Providing additional information and responding to our survey can clarify certain aspects of a company’s operations, which could shift them up or down depending on how this impacts their score. The only real way that an electricity provider can influence where they sit is through changing their business practices to support renewable energy over dirty coal and gas.