Aussie electricity bills are under the pump from both sides in 2026. Daily supply charges have jumped by as much as 100 percent with some retailers. Unfortunately for us, the supply charge is fixed, meaning you pay it regardless of how much power you use.
The only part of your bill you can actually control is your usage, so that is where we're going to focus on today. In this blog, we'll go through some handy was to reduce your electricity bills.
1. Put your high-draw appliances on a timer
The biggest wins come from appliances that run longer than they need to. Clothes dryers, dishwashers, pool pumps and air conditioners are the main culprits. Running these on timers, or simply cutting back run time, makes a measurable difference. Most households can trim 10 to 20 percent off their usage charge without changing their lifestyle much at all.
2. Swap high-wattage habits for low-wattage alternatives
Not every appliance costs the same to run. A clothes dryer sits at around 4,000W. A heated towel rail like our Gordon or Loop sits at 200W and does the same job of keeping your towels dry and fresh, without the wear on fabric or the hit to your bill. The Gordon heated towel rail costs around $0.08 per hour to run at current rates. At 4 hours a day, that is under $2.50 a week. Swapping even one high-draw appliance habit for a low-wattage alternative adds up over a year.
3. Use smart switches to stop appliances running when nobody needs them
Appliances left running on nobody's watch are a quiet, consistent cost. Smart switches let you schedule appliances around your routine so nothing runs unnecessarily. The Clipsal Iconic Wiser and Infinite Automation 10A are solid options for bathroom appliances. Set your heated towel rail to kick on an hour before your morning shower and switch off automatically after. Zero daily effort but a lower monthly bill.
4. Check your plan and actually compare
With prices resetting on 1 July 2026, plenty of households are still sitting on outdated plans that no longer reflect current market rates. Twenty minutes on Energy Made Easy could tell you whether you are overpaying. Switching plans does not touch your supply charge, but it can bring your usage rate down in a meaningful way.
5. Cut your heating and cooling load
Heating and cooling account for roughly 40 percent of the average Aussie electricity bill. Better insulation, sealed draughts and ceiling fans before the air conditioner are the highest-impact changes most households can make. A heated towel rail that takes the chill off a cold bathroom in winter also means less temptation to crank the central heating for longer than needed.
The bottom line
You cannot do much about the supply charge increase. What you can do is make sure every appliance you run is worth what it costs. Low-wattage appliances on timers, a better energy plan, and a few small habit changes add up to a genuinely lower bill across the year.
