Victoria's Electricity Prices Hit Record Highs: Why Solar + Battery Is Your Best Defence
Victorian households are paying more for electricity than ever before, and prices are not coming back down. Here's why acting now saves you thousands.
Key Takeaway for Victorian Homeowners
Victorian electricity prices have increased over 50% since 2021 and are not coming back down. A solar + battery system can cut your electricity bill by 60-80%, and every year you wait costs you $1,400 or more in lost savings while government rebates continue to decline.
What's Happening to Electricity Prices in Victoria?
If your electricity bills have been climbing year after year, you're not imagining it. Victorian households have experienced some of the steepest electricity price increases in the country since 2022, driven by a combination of ageing coal power stations, rising network costs, and the massive investment required to transition Australia's energy grid.
The Victorian Default Offer (VDO), set by the Essential Services Commission, has increased repeatedly. The average Victorian household is now paying between $1,600 and $2,200 per year on electricity — and that figure keeps rising.
Victorian Electricity Price Trends
| Year | Avg. Usage Rate | Avg. Annual Bill | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ~22c/kWh | ~$1,200 | Baseline |
| 2022-23 | ~27c/kWh | ~$1,500 | +25% |
| 2023-24 | ~30c/kWh | ~$1,700 | +13% |
| 2024-25 | ~29c/kWh | ~$1,600 | -6% |
| 2025-26 | ~32c/kWh | ~$1,800 | +12% |
Why Prices Won't Come Back Down
Many Victorian households have been hoping that electricity prices would eventually return to pre-2022 levels. Unfortunately, there are strong structural reasons why this is unlikely to happen:
Why Your Bills Will Keep Rising
- 1.Coal plant closures are accelerating. Yallourn Power Station in the Latrobe Valley closes in 2028, removing 1,480 MW of baseload power. Loy Yang A and B face ongoing reliability issues. Replacing this capacity with new infrastructure costs billions that flow through to your bills.
- 2.Network costs are surging. Billions of dollars in new transmission infrastructure (VNI West interconnector, Western Renewables Link, Marinus Link) are being built to support the energy transition. These costs are passed directly to consumers through network charges.
- 3.The Capacity Investment Scheme adds costs. The federal government's mechanism to ensure reliable supply during the transition adds costs that are ultimately borne by electricity consumers.
- 4.Gas prices remain elevated. Gas-fired power stations set the marginal price in the electricity market during peak periods. With global gas prices well above historical averages, this keeps electricity wholesale costs high.
Time-of-Use Tariffs: The Hidden Cost Multiplier
Many Victorians are now on time-of-use (TOU) electricity plans, where the price you pay depends on when you use electricity. The problem? The most expensive period is exactly when most families need power the most — the evening peak.
This is where a battery changes everything. Your solar panels generate power during the day (shoulder period), and a battery stores that power for use during the expensive evening peak. Instead of paying 38-55 cents per kWh from the grid, you're using your own stored solar energy for free.
The Real Cost of Waiting
Some homeowners think they should wait for solar and battery prices to drop further. But here's what the numbers actually show for a typical Victorian household:
The True Cost of Delaying Solar + Battery
| Factor | Install Now (2026) | Wait Until 2027 | Wait Until 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victorian Battery Rebate | $2,950 | Potentially reduced | Likely ended |
| Federal STC Discount | ~$2,500 | ~$2,100 | ~$1,700 |
| Electricity savings lost | $0 | -$1,400 | -$2,800 |
| Total Cost of Waiting | Best Value | ~$2,250 worse off | ~$5,550 worse off |
The maths is clear: waiting one year costs you roughly $2,250. Waiting two years costs over $5,500. And that's a conservative estimate — if electricity prices rise faster than expected, the gap widens further.
How Much Can a Victorian Household Actually Save?
A properly sized solar + battery system for a typical Victorian home can dramatically reduce your electricity bills. Here's what real savings look like:
Typical Victorian Household Savings
Savings vary based on household consumption, system size, orientation, and electricity plan. Figures include self-consumption value and feed-in tariff credits.
Government Rebates Are Shrinking Every Month
Both state and federal incentives are on a countdown. The Victorian Solar Homes battery rebate of up to $2,950 has limited remaining allocations. The federal Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) reduce in value every year until they reach zero in 2031. And the Cheaper Home Batteries Program rebate drops every six months from May 2026.
Combined, these incentives can save you $5,000 or more on a solar + battery system right now. But that number is shrinking with every passing month. There has never been a better time to act — and there may never be again.
"Victorian households are essentially paying a premium every single day they don't have solar and battery. With current rebates and electricity prices, the payback period for a quality system is now under 5 years — and you get 20+ years of savings after that."
— Clean Energy Council, Industry Report 2025
Stop Paying Record-High Electricity Prices
Every quarter you wait costs you hundreds in lost savings and declining rebates. Get a free, no-obligation quote from Solar Battery Group today and find out exactly how much you could save.