Australian households that invest in rooftop solar and battery storage are proving more willing to change electricity retailers than the broader population, according to new research from Roy Morgan, highlighting how distributed energy assets are reshaping consumer behaviour in the retail electricity market.
The survey found that 31 per cent of households that installed a solar energy system in the past year had either switched retailers or were likely to do so within the next 12 months. This compares with 25 per cent across all Australian households.
The propensity to switch was even higher among households with both rooftop solar and battery storage, with 33 per cent indicating they had changed, or intended to change, energy providers.
The research surveyed 56,356 households nationally between October 2024 and September 2025, excluding Western Australia, where the main electricity grid operates as a monopoly. Of those surveyed, 1,191 households had purchased a solar energy system in the preceding 12 months, including rooftop solar, solar hot water and solar-heated swimming pools. The majority of new installations were rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, with 425 households installing solar paired with battery storage.
Roy Morgan found that one in five households that installed a solar system in the past year had already switched electricity retailers. This is around four percentage points higher than the national average. Among households with both solar and batteries, the switching rate was six percentage points above the average.
Michele Levine, Chief Exeutive Officer at Roy Morgan, shared that the data reflects a more engaged and value-focused approach from households investing in distributed energy.
“Households that invest in solar are clearly motivated to ensure they are maximising the return on that investment. In the current economic environment, declining feed-in tariffs (not just high electricity prices) are prompting people to reassess their energy plans.”
The survey also found that solar and battery households were more likely to be actively considering a switch, even if they had not yet done so. While 12 per cent of the general population said they were planning to change retailers in the next year, this rose to 15 per cent among solar households and 17 per cent among those with solar and battery systems.
Levine expects switching rates to rise further as home battery uptake accelerates, particularly following the launch of the Federal Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program in July 2025.
As battery ownership grows, retailers are increasingly competing through more complex pricing structures, including time-of-use rates, export incentives during evening peak periods, and varying daily supply charges. This reinforces the need for energy-literate customers to actively manage their retail arrangements.
More broadly, the findings show households are increasingly adopting distributed energy technologies and becoming more active participants in the electricity market, rather than passive consumers.