Open banking is already up and running in Australia, and open energy has followed. Driven by the Consumer Data Right (CDR) legislation, open energy gives you more control over your energy data and can make it easier to find better deals and switch energy plans. Here is what you need to know about how it works.
The market for energy in Australia is complex, and there are lots of organisations out there that hold data about the way you use energy. Open energy gives you a way to access and share this data.
Right now, even if you're the shrewdest Australian, it's difficult to work out the best energy plan for you as this can depend on a number of things, such as how much energy you use, when you use it, what type of meter is in your house and whether you have solar panels installed.
Even with your most recent energy bill to hand, it is hard to estimate your energy usage for the whole year as this can change drastically from season to season.
The data made available through open energy changes this by giving you a full picture of your energy usage, which you can share with comparison sites, energy retailers and other accredited organisations to help you find better deals. The whole scheme is also "opt-in", meaning you have full control over who you share your data with and how it is used.
Open energy is already live. Since November 2022, the biggest energy retailers have had to share your data with accredited businesses that you've given your consent to.
The Consumer Data Right (CDR) legislation that sits behind open energy passed through Parliament in August 2019.
Open banking was the first sector to go live under the CDR, and energy came next. The CDR rules brought energy in over several stages:
Smaller retailers can choose to take part. Under the energy rules, you don't request the data from your retailer yourself. Instead, you give your consent to an accredited business, which then collects the data for you.
The CDR rules for energy cover several types of data, including:
AGL, Origin Energy, EnergyAustralia and other retailers with 10,000 or more small customers must share your data, with some of it supplied to them by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), while energy plan data comes from the Australian Energy Regulator. Businesses that collect your data under open energy generally need to be accredited under the CDR and follow the security rules set by the government.
Your energy retailer can't charge a fee for sharing the core data covered by the rules. An accredited business can charge a fee for disclosing your data, but it must tell you about the fee when it asks for your consent.
The big goal for open energy is to make finding the better energy plans for you easier than ever. If this is achieved, then the hope is that this will lead to increased competition in the energy sector as more people switch to the best-priced plans on the market.
As a working example, say you use a comparison service that is an accredited data recipient. With your consent, it can collect your energy data, including your usage and billing data, from your retailer. Combined with the energy plan data also available under open energy, this can help it find you a better deal on your energy plan and estimate how much you could save over the next year. In this scenario, the hard work is done for you, so choosing a great deal that saves you money can be as simple as a few clicks.
In November 2019, while open energy was being designed, the Data Standards Body set up an Energy Advisory Committee to advise it on the best way to encourage data sharing in the energy sector. The Data Standards Body no longer lists it among its current committees or consultative groups. Its 14 original members, with the roles they held at the time, were:
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