Regional Queensland households and small businesses will pay less for power from July 1 after the Queensland Competition Authority released its 2026-27 price determination.

The Queensland Renewable Energy Council has welcomed the decision, saying lower wholesale energy costs were a key factor in the outcome and that renewable generation and battery storage were helping put downward pressure on power prices.

QREC chief executive officer Katie-Anne Mulder said the determination highlighted the importance of bringing new generation and storage projects into service.

“The clear message from these electricity price cuts for regional Queensland is – ‘renewables are delivering low cost, modern energy generation,’” Ms Mulder said.

“The QCA’s determination is welcome news for regional households and small businesses, and it reinforces that more renewable energy and battery storage means more downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices.

“The Australian Energy Regulator found renewables and battery storage helped underpin lower default market offer prices for electricity consumers in south-east Queensland and the QCA’s determination now points in the same direction for regional Queensland.

“This is practical cost-of-living relief, supported by the generation and storage projects Queensland needs to deliver a more affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity system.”

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QREC said its submission to the QCA argued the forecast reductions were materially driven by lower wholesale energy costs and depended on near-term generation and storage projects assumed in the ACIL Allen Reference Case used in the authority’s modelling.

Ms Mulder said the State Government should focus on ensuring projects identified in the modelling were delivered on time.

“The price benefits identified by the QCA will only be secured if the projects assumed in the ACIL Allen Reference Case are actually built, connected and operating,” Ms Mulder said.

“That means Queensland must turn its renewable energy pipeline into delivered projects.”

ACIL Allen’s modelling lists more than 20 Queensland supply projects with a combined installed capacity of more than 5000MW, most of them wind, solar or battery projects.

QREC said keeping those projects on track would require efficient planning assessments, timely network connections, workable community benefit agreement frameworks and clear investment signals.

“Wind, solar and battery projects can help regional Queensland households and small businesses pay less for power, but only if governments, regulators, network businesses, local councils, landholders, communities and project proponents continue to work together,” Ms Mulder said.