$28,600 in annual energy savings — this importance of reviewing your Network Tariff

Industry
Hospitality – Pub & Tavern

Energy Procurement 

Agnes Water Tavern

Agnes Water Tavern is a well-known pub and tavern based in Agnes Water, QLD, trading seven days a week with full food, beverage and entertainment operations. Electricity is one of the venue’s most significant ongoing costs — making the accuracy of every component of the energy bill a genuine commercial priority.

The Challenge

Agnes Water Tavern engaged Spinifex Energy ahead of their retail contract expiry, with the goal of running a competitive tender before the agreement rolled over. That was the starting point — but what we found in the process went well beyond the retail contract.

As part of our standard engagement, we conducted a Network Tariff Optimisation (NTO) analysis alongside the tender — a service we provide at no additional cost to every client. The NTO revealed that the venue had been on a network distribution tariff that no longer reflected their actual usage and demand profile. This isn’t visible from the bill itself; it requires a dedicated analysis to identify. The cost of that mismatch was $21,900 per year — silently absorbed into the business’s electricity costs year after year.

Identifying the Opportunity

Our NTO analysis and competitive retail tender ran simultaneously — as they always do for Spinifex Energy clients. The NTO is not an add-on; it is a standard part of how we approach every engagement, at no cost to the client.

The NTO analysis identified the following for Agnes Water Tavern:

• The venue was on distribution tariff generating $95,100 per year in network distribution costs
• A switch to more cost-effective tariff was identified as the optimal structure for their actual consumption and demand profile
• No equipment changes, infrastructure works or operational adjustments are required — the saving is unlocked entirely through a billing classification change at the distributor level
• The $21,900 annual saving is structural and permanent from the date the tariff change takes effect — it is not tied to a contract term

On the retail side, our competitive tender was run across a panel of leading Australian energy retailers before the existing contract could roll over. The tender secured a further $6,700 per year in retail savings, with competitive rates locked in for 36 months.

The Results

The combination of a free NTO analysis and a well-run competitive retail tender delivered a result that was greater than either could have achieved alone:

• Network distribution costs reduced by $21,900 per year — from $95,100 to $73,200 — a 23% saving achieved with no change to usage, equipment or operations, and delivered at no cost to the client.

• Retail energy costs reduced by a further $6,700 per year through a competitive tender, with rates locked in for 36 months.

• Combined annual saving of $28,600 — a material reduction to one of the venue’s largest operating costs.

• The NTO saving is permanent and ongoing; the retail saving provides certainty through to the end of 2029.

• The entire process — NTO analysis, tariff change recommendation, and retail tender — was managed end-to-end by Spinifex Energy, included as part of our standard engagement, and delivered with zero disruption to venue operations.

A competitive tender is just the starting point. For every client we work with, we also run a Network Tariff Optimisation at no additional cost — because the full story of what a business is paying for energy doesn’t end at the retail contract. For Agnes Water Tavern, that approach uncovered $21,900 in annual savings that would have gone unnoticed indefinitely.