When a business energy contract ends and you do nothing, your energy stays on but the rate moves to one nobody negotiated. Start 90 days out: find your end date, gather your usage, work out whether you are small or large market, and go to market while you still have time to choose. Termina does all of it, and it is $0 to join.
Termina is an Australian and New Zealand business energy procurement company and energy data platform.
Figures as at October 2026.
Your energy stays on. What changes is the price, and nobody negotiated the new one.
The Essential Services Commission lists moving onto a standing offer after a market contract ends as one of the ways a business lands on one. Standing offer prices are capped by the Victorian Default Offer, which the regulator says "will not necessarily be the lowest price available to you".
Standing offer prices are capped by the default market offer, set by the Australian Energy Regulator. A cap is a ceiling, not a deal. See what the default market offer is.
A large site that reaches the end of its contract without a new one rolls onto a default rate no one negotiated, until someone takes it back to market.
Sources: Essential Services Commission, Victorian Default Offer; Australian Energy Regulator, Default market offer 2026 to 27.
Four steps, in order. Each one is quicker if the one before it is done.
Your end date is in your contract and often on your bill. Check whether the contract needs notice to end, whether it renews by itself, and whether there is an exit fee.
Pull 12 months of bills if you have them, and have your NMI ready; it is on your bill. Retailers price large sites on interval data, which shows when you use energy, not just how much.
It depends on annual usage and your state: 40 MWh in Victoria, 100 MWh in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, 160 MWh in South Australia. The two are bought differently.
Small market sites compare published offers. Large market sites go to tender. Either way, sign before the end date so the new rate starts the day the old one stops.
It depends on each site's annual electricity usage and the state it is in.
| State | Large market from | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 40 MWh a year | Below: small market. Above: large market, tendered |
| New South Wales, Queensland, ACT | 100 MWh a year | Below: small market. Above: large market, tendered |
| South Australia | 160 MWh a year | Below: small market. Above: large market, tendered |
| Tasmania, Western Australia, Northern Territory | Rules differ | Ask us and we will tell you which applies |
A bill that is already unbundled, with network, demand and market charges itemised, goes to tender whatever the volume. To see what the market is charging now, see business electricity rates in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
We hold the date so you do not have to, and go back to market for you before the contract rolls over.
Reviewed every month. We review your prices every month, and if there is anything cheaper we switch you. No renewal date to remember.
A 50/50 share of the saving. Every energy broker is paid by the retailer they put you with. We refuse those commissions, so the only way we get paid is a share of what we save you, split 50/50. No saving, no fee. Our fee sits inside your rates rather than arriving as a separate bill.
Guarantee. On small business plans in Australia: if no better rate is found in 12 months, you get $100 off your next bill. Terms apply.
Tendered at every renewal. We put your load in front of 37+ retailers before the contract rolls over, and lock the winning rate the day it renews.
Every date held. We track every contract and renewal date across your sites and re-tender each one at the right time.
Our share, published. No fee to run the tender. Once you switch, 1% of your bill (capped at $80 a month) plus 10% of what we save you.
Running several sites? See multi-site business energy.
Saved across 17 cafes, including venues in the regional Ergon network.
Read the storyOn small business plans in Australia: if no better rate is found in 12 months, you get $100 off your next bill.
No. Your supply carries on. What changes is the price: once the contract ends you pay whatever rate applies next, and nobody negotiated it for you.
About 90 days before the end date. That leaves time to gather your usage, go to market and sign before the contract rolls over. For large sites, the months before a contract rolls over are when a tender has the most leverage.
Check your contract for an exit fee first. We map every contract and renewal date and go to market at the right time, so you are never switching early or rolling onto a default rate.
A standing offer is a retailer's default contract. In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission lists moving onto a standing offer after your market offer contract comes to an end as one of the ways a business ends up on one. Standing offer prices for small businesses are capped by the default market offer or the Victorian Default Offer.
Then start now. Send us a recent bill and we will tell you what you are paying and what the market is offering.
$0 to join. Small business: Every energy broker is paid by the retailer they put you with. We refuse those commissions, so the only way we get paid is a share of what we save you, split 50/50. No saving, no fee. Our fee sits inside your rates rather than arriving as a separate bill. Large business: No fee to run the tender. Once you switch, 1% of your bill (capped at $80 a month) plus 10% of what we save you.
A recent bill is enough to start. For large sites, retailers price on your interval data, which we can request with your authority.
Send us your current bill and we'll tell you what your renewal should look like.
