What to Look Out for When Choosing a Green Energy Retailer

What to Look Out for When Choosing a Green Energy Provider

This post was last updated in 2025

Hello there my eco-conscious warriors 😊

You would think that switching to green energy would mean signing up with a company that sources its electricity from renewable resources. Unfortunately, things aren’t as simple as that for most of Australia.

In most states in Australia, energy retailers get their energy from the national grid, which contains a mix of renewable and non-renewable sources. While energy retailers can not supply us with energy from renewable sources, your choice of energy retailer still matters. This blog post covers the different elements you should look out for if you want to make an eco-friendly choice.

Here are the topics covered in this blog post:

What is the national grid and why can’t I get my energy from renewables?
What are energy retailers?
What to look out for when choosing a green energy retailer

Let’s get into it 🚀

What is the national grid and why can’t I get my energy from renewables?

When I started looking into making a switch to green energy I discovered that all states in Australia (except Western Australia and the Northern Territory) operate under the National Power Market (NEM).

I had heard about the “national grid” before but what I did not realise was that the energy Australia produces goes onto this one grid and energy is distributed to us from this grid. So energy from coal AND renewables is fed onto the same grid and then it flows to us for use.

Perhaps most people are aware of this, but I was surprised when I discovered this.

Here is a diagram that demonstrates what I mean:

Source: https://www.powershop.com.au/carbon-neutral-certification/#/

This happens because electricity needs to be pooled together – “electricity cannot be stored for future use, so supply must vary dynamically with changing demand. And because one unit of electricity is indistinguishable from all other units, it is impossible to determine which generator produced which electricity.”

So for those of us getting energy from the national grid, it is impossible to source electricity from a renewable energy generator.

There is only one place we can our electricity from – the national grid. And the grid has in it, energy from non-renewable and renewable resources.

So does this mean that it’s impossible to get 100% of your energy directly from a renewable resource? Pretty much, yes. Unless of course, you generate electricity yourself, through solar panels. But yeah, if you are in a state that participates in the NEM, you CAN NOT get 100% of your energy from renewable resources.

Time to give up? Nope.

What are energy retailers?

An energy retailer buys electricity from the NEM and then sells it to those who pay them for it. They are the companies we deal with when we want electricity.

If it isn’t already clear, the company you signed up with to get your energy (energy retailer) is not the company that generates the energy (energy generator). That being the case, why does the choice of retailer matter? They all buy the same non-renewable/ renewable mix off the grid??

Well, not all retailers are created equal. There are ways to support renewable energy by being choosy about which retailer you sign up with.

What to look out for when choosing a green energy retailer

There are many ways that a retailer can use its profits and position in the market to support renewable energy. Considering this, here is a list of characteristics you’d want to look out for in your retailer, as a tell-tale sign that they support the renewable energy market.

Products Offered	They offer carbon-neutral energy They offer GreenPower
Energy use	They offset their energy use
Asset ownership	They own renewable energy assets or the parent company owns assets that generate renewable energy
Market position	They actively take the position that coal fire power sources should be phased out of our market They promote energy efficiency They support technology that allows for small-scale electricity generation
Pricing	They support localised energy production and community involvement They promote demand management They offer high solar feed-in tariffs to encourage households to go solar

These are the points you need to keep in mind when choosing an energy retailer.

When you find a retailer that ticks some of these boxes, you’re onto a company that actively supports the renewable energy market. By signing up with these companies, you indirectly support the production of renewable energy, squeezing out demand for energy from fossil fuels.

The switch in energy retailer is like any change we make as an individual – it may seem inconsequential on its own, but our actions add up. Otherwise, it will be our inaction that adds up over time.

That sentiment is captured in the words I always like to end with – it is through these conscious choices we can collectively work towards a more sustainable future 🌎

xxx Tahsin

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A Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. Also as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products and services that will help you take steps towards a more sustainable life and will not recommend anything that does not align, in some way, with these values.