Tamworth and regional NSW could miss out on benefits of lower NSW default power prices

Last week the Australian Energy Regulator released its draft determination, which predicted prices would fall by 2 per cent from July 1, which would represent a saving of around $40 for people on that rate.

Companies could fight that change though, and if they're unsuccessful, it means certain benefits may be stripped away in rural areas such as Tamworth.

"This is currently a draft and it's what the government is proposing, we know the government is always trying to help rural and regional areas," Compare the Market spokesman Chris Ford said.

"But unless these distributors and retailers can actually offset the transport costs of electricity and still make money, retailers might propose a higher default market offer or potentially pull back discounts in regional areas."

Despite Tamworth having boasted high power prices over the past few years, Mr Ford said residents are actually uniquely well placed to bag a bargain if they do their research.

Given Tamworth is large for a regional city, the competition is much stronger than in other rural areas and that can lead to better deals being available.

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"In the Tamworth area, which is under the Essential Energy distribution zone, right now under this draft it's predicted to have their energy bills drop by about 2 per cent," he said.

"But we've done some comparison on if they switched to the median market offer - they would save about 13 per cent, but if they switched to the lowest market offer they would save 25 per cent.

"So there's definitely savings to be had and it's really good news this draft, for Tamworth and regional NSW, but there are a lot better offers out there."

Roughly 10 per cent of the population is on the default offer, which normally occurs when someone has never switched to a market offer, or they have switched plans more than a year ago and up-front discounts have expired.

Mr Ford said if a price change does take place, it would be a smart time for all users to take a look at their plan and see if there's something better on the market.

"When the default market offer changes, retailers very often react and change their market offers, so now and in the next couple of months is really a good time to shop around as there will likely be more competitive offers out there," he said.

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