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Exposing the Dirty Power Games

The Big Three energy companies (AGL, Origin, and EnergyAustralia) are exploiting customers, and getting away with it. Until now.

The Dirty Power Games report, funded by GetUp members, exposes the dirty games energy retailers play to gouge their customers.

These games allow retailers to charge customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia two to three times more for electricity than in the ACT, where the regulated retailer is delivering some of the best value electricity in the country.

Let the Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg know it's time to put an end to the Big Three's dirty power games, by sending him a copy of the report today.

Timing is crucial. On 19 August, state and federal energy minsters are having an emergency meeting, to decide the future of Australia's electricity market.

If enough of us expose the real problem in our energy market — big polluters rigging the market for their own gain — we can make sure the ministers back reforms that benefit customers and clean energy.

Share the Dirty Power Games with Minister Frydenberg now.

Click here to download the summary



Bruce Mountain specialises in the economic regulation of energy markets and the design of electricity networks. His groundbreaking research was funded by generous donations from 1735 GetUp members.

Click here to read Bruce Mountain's report on Australia's retail electricity markets

Click here to read Bruce Mountain's report on South Australia's wholesale electricity market

This briefing paper calls for:

  • the modernisation of our electricity sector to further support renewable energy growth,
  • the removal of barriers that distort the market in favour of fossil-fuel incumbents,
  • and for the development of a roadmap that can enact a smooth and speedy transition to the rapidly approaching electricity market of the future.
Click here to download a summary of the recommendations



Send the report to Minister Frydenberg


Your local MP Josh Frydenberg is the Minister for Energy and Environment. Let him know why, as a constituent, you want to see him put an end to the Big Three's dirty power games.

Write a personalised message for him below. Remember to include a link to the report, so he can see it for themselves: http://www.getup.org.au/power-games

We've provided a few talking points to start you off, but your message will be far more impactful if it's written in your own words.


Hit "Add" to insert the talking point into your email

Renewables are the answer, not the problem. A lack of competition, not a lack of capacity, was to blame. A handful of generators deliberately held out for sky-high prices at a time when they had almost 1,000 MW of spare capacity up their sleeves.
Gas company gouging was the main reason for South Australia’s recent price spikes. The prices they charged were $1,700 to $8,500 more per MWh than would be expected in a competitive market.
More gas is not the answer. Lifting moratoriums on fracking would do absolutely nothing to prevent the kind of price spikes we've just seen in South Australia.
Deregulation is failing to deliver for consumers. For customers of the Big Three energy retailers (AGL, Origin, and EnergyAustralia), charges for retailing electricity have grown from an insignificant slice of a household’s bill to 38% of it – far more than the cost of producing the electricity.
We need an independent inquiry into the true causes of Australia’s high power prices. Regulators have let big energy companies off the hook for too long. It’s time they were held to account. Read the more about the Dirty Power Games report here: http://www.getup.org.au/power-games
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