Caps on what retailers can charge households and businesses in NSW, South Australia, southeast Queensland and Victoria are refreshed by regulators every year.
Some NSW customers on default market offers, as they are known, could end up paying $200 more a year than the 12 months prior, with smaller increases expected in Queensland ($119) and South Australia ($114).
In Victoria, modest gains in the maximum deal retailers can offer of less than one per cent - about $12 a year - have been pencilled in, with variation across locations.
Default market offers are refreshed annually to reflect the cost retailers are paying generators for electricity and to have it transported through poles and wires.
Safety net prices differs by region but residential electricity customers from NSW, South Australia and southeast Queensland are on track for price rises of somewhere between 2.5 and 8.9 per cent compared with the last financial year.
Small business customers could see price gains of between 4.2 and 8.2 per cent.
About eight per cent of residential customers and almost18 per cent of small business are on standing offers from retailers rather than more competitive market rates.
The Australian Energy Regulator, which sets default prices in those states, said both higher wholesale market and network costs were contributing to higher prices.
Average wholesale market spot prices increased across 2024, driven by high demand, coal generator and network outages, and low solar and wind output that caused "high price events".
"We've seen cost pressures across nearly every component of the default market offer," AER chair Clare Savage said.
The regulator is expected to finalise the offer in May.
Victorian benchmark prices are set by a separate state-based regulator and some residential customers face a modest fall of $19 a year while others could be hit with a $68 hike, depending on location.
Small businesses on the Essential Services Commission's default offer are heading towards a three per cent price increase, or $104, on last year.
Only customers who fail to shop around end up on default offers from retailers, so hunting for better deals can help households and businesses keep prices down.
Energy bill relief has further been insulating households and businesses from price pain, with speculation the federal government will extend its subsidies in the budget on March 25.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said two rounds of energy bill relief so far and acting to cap gas and energy prices had protected consumers and small businesses but recommended shopping around to reduce bills even further.
"While today's news is mixed it does show energy retailers are responding to competition – with energy plans that are 25 per cent cheaper than the default market offer, it's worth shopping around," he said.
Cost-of-living pressures remain top of mind for the electorate heading into the federal election to be held on or before May 17.
Energy Consumers Australia chief executive officer Brendan French said the default market offer was not working effectively if it was priced 25 per cent above competitive offers.
"The Australian Energy Regulator is in a difficult spot because there is continued wholesale volatility and network costs keep going up," he said.
"But we will continue to encourage the regulator to do everything possible to ensure that networks are operating at lowest cost and also that the retail component of the default market offer eliminates unnecessary marketing and other elements."
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