Red Energy review: ownership, plans and complaints record

Red Energy at a glance

Figures are from the Australian Energy Regulator and Red Energy's own website.

Plans Red Energy markets

Red's current offers include Red Power5, with five hours of free electricity a day (up to 15 kWh) for Victorian households only, Qantas Red plans that earn Qantas Points, and EvenPay, which smooths bills into regular instalments. Since 1 July 2026 it must also offer the Solar Sharer plan in NSW, south-east Queensland and SA. As with any retailer, a free-power window is only worth it if you can move real usage into it.

Qantas Points plans: what to check

Red's Qantas Red plans earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 when you pay your electricity and gas bills on time, plus bonus points when you pay your first bill in full: 10,000 for electricity and 5,000 for gas, according to Red's website on 2 October 2026. Red says there are no sign-up fees or lock-in contracts for residential customers.

Value the points honestly. For example, a household paying $2,000 a year in energy bills on time would earn 4,000 points a year, on top of the first-bill bonus. What those points are worth depends on how you redeem them; our guide to how much Qantas Points are worth shows how to put a figure on them. Then compare the plan's rates with Red's other plans and with other retailers: if the points plan costs more over a year than the cheapest alternative, the difference is what you are paying for the points.

Regulator actions

In April 2025 Red Energy paid seven AER infringement notices totalling $474,600, and the AER accepted a court-enforceable undertaking, over the alleged removal of hardship and payment plan protections from customers when they moved house.

Red Energy's complaints record

The Australian Energy Regulator publishes how many complaints each retailer receives. The figures below are complaints made to Red Energy itself by residential customers in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, as reported to the AER, with the figure for all retailers beside them. We publish the counts and do not rate retailers.

Concessions and seniors

State energy concessions and rebates are paid by governments, so eligible seniors and other card holders keep them whichever retailer they choose. They do not move automatically when you switch: tell Red Energy or your new retailer about your card, or in South Australia tell ConcessionsSA. Our state pages list each concession, for example in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Red Energy compared with AGL and Origin Energy

The public record for the three, side by side. It does not show whose plans are cheaper at your address: the government comparators do that, plan by plan.

How to check Red Energy's plans against the market

Retailers must publish their generally available plans to the government comparators: Energy Made Easy in NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania and the ACT, and Victorian Energy Compare in Victoria. Each plan there has a standard fact sheet listing every rate, fee and discount condition, which is the fairest way to line Red Energy's plans up against everyone else's.

Start with how far below the reference price each plan is (the Default Market Offer in NSW, south-east Queensland and SA, or the Victorian Default Offer), then run your own annual usage from a recent bill through the shortlist. The same retailer can be among the cheapest in one network zone and not in another.