According to a survey by Roy Morgan, new solar energy system owners are switching electricity providers more frequently than the typical Australian household – with this trend being even more pronounced among battery owners.
Are solar and battery owners more likely to change energy providers?
The survey found 31% of new solar energy system owners have either changed energy supplier or are likely to do so in the next 12 months, compared to 25% of all Australian households.
For those with rooftop solar and battery storage, the number is even higher: 33% of respondents are either switching or are likely to do so soon.
Who was interviewed?
The survey covered households across Australia except Western Australia (where the main grid has a monopoly on electricity supply via Synergy) from October 2024 to September 2025.
The survey base included 56,356 households – 1,191 of which had purchased a solar energy system (including solar roofs, solar water heating and solar heated swimming pools) in the previous year. The majority of these – 1,010 – were buyers of rooftop solar panels in the last 12 months. The results included 425 households that purchased rooftop solar panels with battery storage.
How many actually changed providers?
A fifth of those who purchased solar in the past 12 months also switched electricity retailers – 4 percentage points more than the general Australian population. For households that have both solar and batteries, the conversion rate is 6% higher than the national average.
Respondents who switched suppliers and purchased solar energy in the last 12 months were most likely to choose Alinta or EnergyAustralia as their new supplier, rather than AGL.
Why are solar and battery providers more likely to switch?
Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, concluded that people who invest in solar are clearly incentivized to ensure they get the most benefit from their new investment.
“The data clearly shows that in this difficult economic climate, falling feed-in tariffs, not just high energy prices, are impacting household decisions. These factors are causing households to review their plan to ensure they are getting the best possible return on their investment,” Levine said.
Levine expects the number of Australians switching energy suppliers to continue to increase as home battery use continues to grow.
“The federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, recently launched in July 2025, is expected to lead to even faster adoption of solar energy storage battery systems in the coming years. “With this continued increase in ownership of solar energy storage battery systems, this will almost certainly lead to a significant increase in electricity provider switching or even lead to households living off the grid entirely,” she said.
What about people who are just thinking about changing?
12% of the total population planned to switch energy providers, compared to 15% of households with solar energy systems and 17% of households with solar and battery systems.
This also applies to those who plan to purchase a solar system in the next 12 months, 17% of whom are also considering making the switch.
Percentage of respondents likely to consider switching energy supplier in the next 12 months.
Don’t let your energy retailer rip you off
Levine warned that declining feed-in tariffs from electricity service providers could ultimately slow the trend of solar home switching providers.
However, beyond feed-in tariffs, there are numerous other differences between energy plans that remain relevant to solar owners – including daily connection fees and peak, off-peak and off-peak tariffs.
Meanwhile, battery owners are being targeted by retailers with higher evening feed-in tariffs to encourage them to export their stored energy during times of peak demand.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently warned that households that have been on the same electricity tariff for more than three years will face a “loyalty penalty” as they pay an average of $221 more per year than customers on new tariffs.
New rules coming into force in July aim to protect customers by ensuring they don’t pay more than the standard/standard offer price if their energy plan benefits change or expire.
To compare energy deals and feed-in tariffs, use SolarQuotes’ electricity tariff comparison tool to ensure you get the best deal for your needs.
Comments are closed.