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South Australia Low Voltage (LV) Demand Tariffs

Agreed and Actual


The move to demand-based tariffs has been undertaken in response to the Australian Energy Regulator's (AER) requirement for all distributors to introduce network tariffs that better reflect customers' needs and the impact this may have on the network.

Some business customers in South Australia may have been moved onto one of two Low Voltage (LV) Demand Tariffs – Actual or Agreed.

Your site has been designated to be charged a demand tariff by SA Power Networks – the electricity distribution business that looks after the poles and wires in South Australia.

If you're an AGL customer, you’ve likely received a letter from us that explains how these demand tariffs have now been introduced to your account. You may also have a number of questions.

Electricity distributors need to maintain their networks so they have the capacity to meet the energy needs of all of their consumers at any given time.

Demand Tariffs are designed to help electricity distributors pay for any necessary extensions or upgrades made to the network so it can continue to support consumer energy demands.

They can also encourage business customers who require large amounts of power during peak demand periods to use less.

How this tariff is charged is based on your business’ highest demand during peak usage times on workdays (excluding public holidays), that it’s either requested or had recorded.

There are two LV Agreed Demand Tariff periods:

  1. Annual Demand Period – Any half hour period between 12 noon and 9pm (local time) on workdays between November and March, excluding public holidays.
  2. Anytime Demand Period - Any half hour period outside the Annual demand period.

How this tariff is charged is based on your business’ maximum actual recorded demand during peak usage times on workdays (excluding public holidays).

There are two LV Actual Demand Tariff periods:

  1. Peak Monthly Demand – Any half hour period from 12pm to 9pm, Monday to Friday.
  2. Off-peak Demand Period - Any half hour period outside the peak period.

Your electricity distributor, SA Power Networks, has placed your site on this tariff.

At AGL, until recently, we didn’t charge this tariff due to a billing system limitation. Instead, we applied a tariff that didn’t include a demand component.

However, we’ve now resolved our billing system limitation and will start charging customers this demand tariff so it aligns with the tariff advised to us by SA Power Networks.

If you believe your site does not require the capacity of electricity dedicated on the Demand Tariff and SA Power Networks agrees, an option may be to change your meter configuration. This may allow you to move back to your old tariff.

To discuss and review your business’ electricity demand and see what appropriate tariffs are applicable to your site, please contact SA Power Networks for advice.

How these Demand Tariffs will impact your business’ electricity bills will largely depend on how efficiently the site uses electricity and the maximum demand recorded at the site.

AGL's current electricity rate details are on our standard retail contracts page.

We’ve listed the LV Agreed Demand Tariff as 'General Supply Stepped Demand GSSD', and LV Actual Demand Tariff as 'Actual Demand' or 'Actual Demand Transition'.

You're free to choose whichever energy retailer you like. However, Demand Tariffs have been introduced by the network operator SA Power Networks, so we expect most other energy retailers may also be charging a Demand Tariff.

If you switch, we suggest finding out if your new retailer charges this tariff now or plans to charge it in the future.