Queensland business electricity tariffs explained (without the jargon)

I’m Joe from Smarta Switch in Brisbane. If you’ve ever squinted at a code like “8400” or “8500” on your power bill and wondered what on earth it means, this one’s for you. Your tariff is one of the most important numbers on the bill, and one of the least understood. Get slotted into the wrong one and you can overpay for years without a single thing looking wrong.

Let me decode it properly. This is South East Queensland specific (Energex network), which covers Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and most of the south-east corner.

We’re paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you.

First: what a “tariff” actually is

Two different things both get called your “tariff,” so let’s separate them:

1. The network tariff, set by Energex (the poles-and-wires company). This decides the structure of your network charges, flat rate, time-of-use, or demand-based. You’ll see a code for it on your bill.
2. The retail tariff/plan, set by your retailer (Origin, AGL, Shell, etc.). This is the rate they charge you for the energy itself, layered on top of the network structure.

When people say “I’m on the wrong tariff,” they usually mean the network one, because that’s the structural choice that decides the shape of your whole bill. Energex assigns it based on your connection size and how much you use. (Here’s how the whole bill is built, line by line.)

The main Queensland business tariff types

You don’t need the exact code memorised. You need to know which type you’re on, because that’s what drives your cost. The common commercial structures in SEQ are:

Small business flat-rate tariffs

The simplest. You pay one flat c/kWh for every unit, plus a daily supply charge. Good for small sites with steady, modest usage, a small shop, an office, a quiet workshop. Easy to understand and predict. The trade-off: no reward for shifting usage off-peak, and once your usage grows, a flat tariff can become the dear option.

Small business time-of-use tariffs

Here the rate changes by time of day, peak, sometimes shoulder, and off-peak. If a chunk of your usage naturally falls outside the expensive peak window (early mornings, evenings, weekends), time-of-use can save you real money. If you’re flat-out during peak hours, it can cost you more. It depends entirely on when you use power, not just how much. (Peak, shoulder and off-peak, explained.)

Demand tariffs

Once a site gets bigger, Energex often moves it onto a demand tariff. On top of the usage rate, you pay a separate demand charge based on the single highest spike of power you pulled (measured in kVA or kW over a short interval). This is the line that catches owners out, it can be 20–40% of the whole bill, and it’s based on your peak, not your total usage. (Full breakdown of demand charges here.)

Large / C&I tariffs

Sites using more than roughly 100 MWh a year move into the large-customer space, where pricing is more bespoke and often goes to tender across retailers rather than a panel quote. Different game, bigger savings, handled differently. (How multi-site and C&I procurement works.)

You’ll see Energex codes like 8400, 8500, 8800 and 7000-series numbers on SEQ bills. The exact code matters less than the type it represents, flat, time-of-use, or demand, because that’s what’s driving your cost.

How you end up on the wrong tariff

Here’s the trap. When you first connected, Energex assigned a tariff based on your site at that moment. Then your business changed, and nobody automatically moves you. So:

• A cafe that added a second coffee machine, a cold room and longer hours may have outgrown its small-business tariff and would be cheaper, or dearer, on a different structure.
• A workshop on a demand tariff that’s since gone quieter might be carrying demand charges it no longer needs.
• A growing site can sit on a flat tariff well past the point where time-of-use would save it money.

The mismatch never announces itself. The bill just sits slightly wrong, every cycle, forever, until someone checks. This is one of the most common hidden costs I find. (It’s reason #3 in why business power bills run high.)

How to find and check your tariff

1. Locate the tariff code on your bill. It’s usually near the usage breakdown or network charges, often a 4-digit number, sometimes with a short description like “Small Business” or “Demand.”
2. Identify the type: is it flat, time-of-use, or demand? If there’s a kVA or “demand” line, you’re on a demand tariff.
3. Match it to how you actually run:
   • Mostly off-peak or weekend usage? Time-of-use may suit.
   • Steady, small, predictable? Flat is probably fine.
   • One big daily spike but modest total usage? A demand tariff might be hurting you, worth modelling an alternative.
4. Don’t change blind. Switching network tariffs has rules and isn’t always reversible quickly, so model it first or get someone to. A wrong change can cost more than the mismatch.

Tariff vs retailer: fix the right thing

A crucial distinction, because it changes who you talk to:

• If your network tariff structure is wrong for your usage, that’s a tariff reassignment issue (Energex), and it can be the bigger saving.
• If your structure is fine but your rates are high, that’s a retailer issue, and the fix is switching or renegotiating your plan. (How to compare retailer quotes properly.)

The best review checks both at once: are you on the right structure, and are you paying a sharp rate within it? Fixing one and ignoring the other leaves money on the table.

What to do this week

1. Find your tariff code and type on your latest bill. Just knowing whether you’re flat, time-of-use or demand tells you a lot.
2. Sense-check it against your hours. When are you actually using the most power, and does your tariff reward or punish that?
3. Get it reviewed against your real usage. Upload your bill on this page or email hello@smartaswitch.com.au. I’ll tell you whether you’re on the right tariff structure for how you run, and whether your rate is competitive within it. No cost, no commitment, because we’re paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you.

The rate gets all the attention. The tariff structure quietly decides the shape of the whole bill. Check both, and you stop overpaying twice.

Joe Lawrence, Co-founder, Smarta Switch Australia 0435 642 592 · joe@smartaswitch.com.au