Green
Energy Plans

A green energy plan is an add-on to your existing electricity plan that lets you support renewable electricity without installing solar panels or generating your own power at home. You use electricity and pay your bill as normal, while your retailer matches some or all of your usage with renewable energy added to the grid, usually for an extra cost.

In Australia, these plans are typically offered through GreenPower, a government-accredited renewable energy scheme.

What is GreenPower?

GreenPower is a government-accredited renewable energy scheme that lets you pay for some or all of your electricity use to be matched with renewable energy added to the grid.

When you choose GreenPower, your retailer buys accredited renewable energy certificates to match the amount of electricity covered by your plan, sourced from generators such as solar, wind and hydro.

This doesn’t mean renewable electricity is sent directly to your home. You still receive electricity from the grid as normal, but the amount covered by GreenPower is matched with accredited renewable generation elsewhere in Australia.

For new GreenPower plans taken out from 1 July 2026, at least 30% of your electricity usage must be matched with renewable energy. Depending on the retailer, you may be able to choose a higher percentage up to 100% or more.

However, the percentage available and the way it is packaged can vary between providers, with some only offering a set percentage rather than a choice, and others marketing GreenPower under their own product name. For example, AGL sells its product as “Green Energy”, ActewAGL as “Greenchoice” and Globird brands its tiers “Green30” through to “GreenZeroHero” for 100% GreenPower.

GreenPower vs solar panels

GreenPower and installing solar panels on your home are both ways of supporting green energy, but they work differently. Solar panels generate renewable electricity at your own property, so you use less power from the grid in the first place. GreenPower doesn't generate anything at your home. Instead, it's a way of paying for green energy, which can include solar, wind or hydro, to be added to the grid to match the power you draw.

You don't need solar panels to add GreenPower to your electricity plan, and having solar doesn't automatically mean the electricity you draw from the grid is covered by GreenPower. They're separate things.

The two can also work together. A household with solar panels can still add GreenPower to match the electricity it draws from the grid, on top of what its panels already generate.

GreenPower vs carbon neutral energy plans

Carbon neutral energy is another “green” option you may have seen on electricity plans, but it works differently to GreenPower.

While GreenPower matches your usage with renewable electricity added to the grid, a carbon neutral plan doesn't change where your electricity comes from. Instead, the retailer buys carbon credits from projects such as reforestation or landfill gas capture to offset the emissions associated with your usage.

Neither option changes the electricity physically delivered to your home. The difference is what your retailer does to account for your electricity use: GreenPower matches it with accredited renewable generation, while carbon neutral plans offset the associated emissions.

How much does GreenPower cost?

GreenPower usually costs more than a standard energy plan. This is because your retailer buys accredited renewable energy certificates on top of the standard wholesale cost of electricity, and passes that additional cost on to you.

The GreenPower program estimates 100% GreenPower typically adds around 4 to 8 cents per kWh to your bill, with lower percentages costing a smaller fraction of that rate. In practice, pricing varies a lot by retailer. AGL's 100% GreenPower product, for example, currently costs around 1.1 cents per kWh, well below that estimate, while ActewAGL charges a flat 4.4 cents per kWh across all its Greenchoice tiers, from 30% up to 200%.

The percentage you choose, how your retailer structures its pricing (a flat rate, a rate that scales with the percentage or a fixed daily fee) and general market conditions can all affect what you end up paying.

Is GreenPower worth it?

Whether GreenPower is worth the extra cost depends on what matters most to you. If your priority is keeping your electricity bill as low as possible, the added premium may be hard to justify.

However, if reducing your environmental impact and supporting renewable energy in Australia is important to you, the extra cost may feel worthwhile.

Ultimately, the value of GreenPower is environmental rather than financial. You won't see a return on your bill, so it comes down to whether supporting renewable energy is worth paying more for.

Do all providers offer green energy plans?

Not all electricity retailers offer GreenPower, but many do, and it's available in every state and territory, including those with more regulated electricity markets like the NT and WA. It's not universal, though, and the percentages on offer, pricing structure and product name all vary by provider.

You can find accredited providers on the GreenPower website, while retailers will generally show whether GreenPower is available on a particular plan and how much it costs.

If you're switching to a new electricity plan, you can usually choose a GreenPower option as part of the sign-up process where it's available. In many cases, you can also add it later if you change your mind.

Most of Savvy's panel offers accredited GreenPower. The current exceptions are 1st Energy, Alinta and Tango, as well as Blue NRG for business customers.