Origin Energy: Review and Pricing Plans

Origin Energy logo

With flexible contracts, chunky discounts, and decent customer service, Origin is a good option for small businesses. But it’s not the most environmentally friendly option out there.

Origin Energy supplies Australian businesses (as well as homes) with gas and electricity, and can also help to set environmentally-conscious companies up with a solar energy supply. Origin is one of the country’s most well-known energy suppliers – but how well do you know its plans, prices, and pros and cons for businesses?

Thoroughly comparing business energy suppliers is important, but we know that it can also be very time-consuming. That’s why we’ve done the research for you, putting Origin under the microscope and presenting our findings so that you can easily work out whether it’s the best energy supplier for your Australian company.

Pros

  • No lock-in contracts or exit fees for small businesses
  • Offers good discounts for new business energy customers

Cons

  • Not available in the Northern Territory or Tasmania
  • The best discounts are reserved for new customers, or those who threaten to leave
Did You Know?

Origin Energy is available to businesses in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory.

That said, within these states there are some areas that Origin doesn’t supply, and some to which Origin can only supply electricity, or only supply gas. You can check your business’s address on Origin’s website to see what’s available for your premises.

How much does Origin Energy cost for businesses?

For small businesses, Origin Energy currently provides two plans:

  • Origin Business Go Variable, a 12-month variable rate tariff
  • Origin Business Basic, a no-frills, fixed price tariff with no end date

Origin gives the following prices for these two energy plans (NB: these prices are based on a business that’s based in Sydney, and they include the discounts mentioned in this review):

ElectricityGas
Daily supply chargePeak usage charge (per kWh)Estimated yearly small business cost*Daily supply chargePeak usage charge (per MJ)
Origin Business Go$1.580628.98 cents$6,37271.28 cents3.82 cents
Origin Business Go Variable$1.616529.63 cents$6,51769.84 cents3.74 cents
Origin Business Basic$1.796132.93 cents$7,24072.00 cents3.85 cents

*For a small business using 10,000 kWh per year, on a flat rate tariff in the Ausgrid network.

What are the benefits of using Origin Energy?

To get us started, let’s take a look at some of the best things about Origin Energy. If you’re looking for key reasons to go with this business energy supplier, here they are:

Good discount on one plan

The first thing that cost-savvy business owners will want us to note is Origin Energy’s discount on its Businesses Go Variable.

Should you sign up for it, you'll get a 10% discount off the reference price as standard. You should be wary, though, that this will only last for the first 12 months of your contract.

No lock-in contracts or exit fees

Origin is flexible with its business energy contracts – you won’t be tied into your contract and, if you choose to switch suppliers down the line, you won’t be charged any exit fees to do so. This seems like a simple thing, but it’s one of those benefits that can give you peace of mind – which, for a business owner, is worth its metaphorical weight in gold.

Solar energy expertise

Origin does some excellent work in the solar sector, helping businesses to get started with their own solar energy generation.

If you’re interested in making the most of that Aussie sunshine, Origin’s process is pretty simple. The company’s solar experts will consult with you, discussing your business’s electricity needs and roof size, as well as Origin’s suitable commercial solar products. They’ll then give you a quote and, if you’re happy, a contract.

Next up, Origin’s solar experts will inspect your premises, and install and activate the system. Helpfully, they’ll also handle any applications you may need to submit to your local council. Overall, the process should take approximately nine to 15 weeks.

Origin also promises to provide ongoing support via a dedicated team. You can opt to pay for your solar system on a 24-month term, a five-year term, or a customised payback plan – from 30 to 60 months – for systems worth $30,000 or less. The latter option is interest-free with 5% deposit required when you pay by credit card.

Another pro that stands in Origin’s favour is that it operates a feed-in tariff, which means you can sell any unneeded electricity that your solar system generates back to the grid. We have it on good authority that the amount Origin will pay you for your excess electricity (in other words, its export solar pricing) is above the state average.

Did You Know?

We can help you to get a tailored, no-obligation quote from the cheapest supplier for your business, quickly and easily. It’s all thanks to our free quote-finding service. Answer a few questions about your energy needs, and our trusted broker will find the best business energy price for you. Our service saves Expert Market customers an average of $1,837 per year on their energy bills – why not give it a try?

Is Origin Energy right for my business?

What’s best for one business may not be best for the next – it all depends on your company’s values, needs, and budget. Chances are, you’re asking at least one of the three key questions we’ll address in this section.

“I want the greenest energy possible – will I get that with Origin?”

You might be satisfied with Origin, but there are greener options out there. Origin is pretty strong in some areas of environmental friendliness. Let’s recap:

  • Origin invests in demand response management and supports local energy trading
  • Origin can help you to set up a renewable solar energy system for your business, and will pay more than average for your excess solar electricity

However, when you look into the sources of Origin’s energy supply, things start to look a little questionable. This is mostly because Origin’s baseload station – in other words, the one that provides power day and night, and which Origin invests heavily in – runs on coal seam gas (CSG), which is extracted via a controversial and environmentally harmful process known as fracking.

It’s not all bad, of course: Origin does also work with two hydropower stations and two solar farms – but unlike competitors such as Powershop and Diamond Energy, Origin's percentage of energy supplied from these renewable sources is remarkably low.

That said, Origin has made commitments for a greener future, including plans to chop its carbon emissions in half by 2032. By 2050, the company also plans to have exited its coal investments, and achieved net-zero emissions.

“I’m looking for the cheapest energy rates – is Origin the answer?”

This is a difficult one to answer definitively. Energy rates change depending on where in the country you’re based – the cheapest business energy supplier in Victoria, for example, may be beaten on price by another supplier in South Australia.

We can say that Origin Energy’s discounts stack up well and make its prices pretty competitive. But is it the cheapest energy supplier for your business? In this review, we can’t answer that with certainty.

What we can do, though, is point you in the direction of our free quote-matching service, which is designed to help you find the cheapest, most suitable business energy supplier for your company.

Simply answer a handful of questions about your energy needs (it only takes a minute), and our trusted broker will seek out the very best offer for you, and provide you with a personalized quote. It’s quick, easy, and free, and it saves Expert Market customers an average of $1,837 per year on their business energy bills.

“Customer service is important to me – is Origin a good choice?”

Origin has a Melbourne-based business service team, whom you can contact via phone, live chat, or social media. Now, the best way to find out how helpful, friendly, and efficient a customer service team can really be is to contact them yourself. But the next best thing is to read reviews from customers who have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

So, to get a flavour of Origin’s customer service prowess, let’s explore some real insights from real customers…

What do Origin Energy’s business customers say?

First up, a caveat: when sourcing customer reviews of energy suppliers, it’s famously difficult to discern business customer reviews from residential customer reviews. So, we’ve handpicked the following reviews because they tell us the most useful things about the experience that Origin gives to its customers, which should be relevant regardless of the type of customer they’ve come from.

Now that’s been cleared up, let’s get into the nitty gritty. Across the web, Origin’s reviews are… mixed. On Trustpilot, the supplier has a fantastic overall score of 4.3 out of 5, from over 800 reviews. Similarly, on Finder, it scores 4.1 out of 5, from over 40 reviews. Meanwhile, over on productreview.com.au, it scores a miserable 1.4 out of 5, from over 2,100 reviews. So it’s not quite a clean sweep.

But what exactly are these customers saying? Here are some of the most helpful comments we found:

“I found the staff to be very product aware, knowledgeable and friendly. As such the two issues I had were both resolved during the course of the one phone call. Very professional.”

David, Trustpilot

“Origin Energy exceeds in customer service. They are very accessible in multiple ways, the last thing you want is a company you can't get in touch with. However, I have never received any contact from them where they have shown interest in my rates. Thus, I am leaving for a different provider who showed me explicitly that, with Origin, I was overpaying, and that they offered better rates. If Origin called every now and then to offer better or negotiated rates to show they were the best service available, I would stay.”

Sean, Finder

“I have been an Origin Energy customer for decades. My electricity contract is to expire in the next couple of weeks. I was emailed by Origin Energy with a proposed new contract. I phoned to see if I had been offered the best prices possible. I had not! I was astounded. A new plan was then proposed. After a day a new contract was emailed to me. (One would think that this could be done automatically, so that checking could occur immediately when the information is fresh in one's mind.)

“After comparing the four sets of figures (my expiring contract, the original emailed proposal and the costs I had been told on the phone), I was to learn that the latest emailed contract was the most expensive. Had I not double checked, I would have been paying a lot more. After yet another phone call to Origin Energy, and being told that the incorrect figures had indeed been used, hopefully the situation will be remedied.”

Barbara, productreview.com.au

Verdict

Origin Energy’s discounts and flexible contracts make it a solid option for cost-conscious small businesses, while its extensive expertise in solar energy makes it a good choice for companies that are keen to benefit from their own renewable energy supply.

On the whole, Origin’s Melbourne-based customer service is rated highly by customers, although some loyal customers have found that they’re not offered rates that are as good as those given to new customers (unless they threaten to leave, in which case they get the best prices).

If your brand is environmentally conscious, Origin may not be the best choice, owing mainly to its investment in fracking, and its pretty measly renewable energy supply. That said, you can choose to offset the emissions associated with your tariff using GreenPower.

Of course, Origin is far from the only business energy supplier in Australia. If you’d like some help in finding the very best supplier for you, you should try our free quote-matching service. Just answer a few questions about your business and its energy needs, and our trusted broker will seek out the best supplier, with the best rates, for you. They’ll then provide you with a bespoke, no-obligation quote. Our service is quick, easy, and saves Expert Market customers an average of $1,837 per year on their energy bills.

Written by:
Julia Watts author headshot photo
Specialising in business software, Julia writes jargon-busting guides about VoIP, fleet management, dash cams, fuel cards, and more. Having spent almost a decade writing for entrepreneurs and reviewing business solutions, she loves helping exciting ventures – big or small – to flourish.
Reviewed by:
Heleana Neil, Business Services editor
Heleana Neil specialises in Business Services, managing the strategy and production of content for SMBs, helping businesses with the challenges and opportunities they face today. Covering everything from payroll to payment processing, Heleana uses her expertise to help business owners make better, informed decisions and grow their companies.