Who is my electricity distributor? How to find yours by state, postcode or NMI

Your electricity distributor is the company that owns and maintains the poles, wires and substations that carry power to your home. It is different from the retailer that sends your bill, and it is decided by where you live rather than by any choice you make.

Knowing who your distributor is tells you who to call in a blackout, which network tariffs sit behind your rates, and in some parts of Australia, whether you can switch retailers at all.

The quickest way to find your distributor is to check the "Faults and emergencies" section of your electricity bill. If you don't have a bill handy, you can also work it out from your NMI, your state's area maps, or by asking your retailer.

Quick facts

• Your electricity distributor is set by your address, and switching retailers does not change it.
• Your distributor's name and faults number are usually printed on your bill under "Faults and emergencies".
• The first digits of your National Metering Identifier (NMI) identify which network your property is connected to.
• Network costs make up around 39% to 54% of the default market offer price in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia for 2026 to 27.
• For power outages and fallen power lines, contact your distributor, not your retailer.

What is an electricity distributor?

An electricity distributor, formally called a distribution network service provider or DNSP, is the business that delivers electricity from the high-voltage grid to individual homes and businesses. The AER defines a DNSP as an entity that owns, operates or controls the physical infrastructure of a distribution network, including poles, cables, substations, transformers and safety equipment.

Distributors are regional monopolies. The AER explains that electricity and gas distribution businesses own and maintain the power lines, poles and pipelines that carry energy to your home, and each state or territory has its own set of distributors.

Before electricity reaches your distributor's network, it travels along high-voltage transmission lines owned by a transmission network service provider (TNSP). AEMO's NMI Allocation List names the TNSPs for each state, including Transgrid in NSW, Powerlink in Queensland, ElectraNet in South Australia and AusNet Services in Victoria.

As a household customer, you will deal with your distributor rather than the transmission company.

Gas works the same way but with separate businesses. Your gas distributor may be a different company from your electricity distributor, even at the same address.

How to find your electricity distributor

Check your electricity bill

Your bill is the most reliable source. If you are unsure who your distributor is, you can find it on your energy bill or by contacting your retailer.

Energy Made Easy, the Australian Government's energy comparison site, advises that the distributor's number is usually listed under a "Faults and emergencies" heading. Our guide to understanding your electricity bill shows where each section usually sits.

Use your NMI

Your NMI is a 10 or 11 character number printed on your bill. The first digits are allocated by AEMO to each distribution network, so you can match them against the table further down this page. 

Check your state's distributor map or postcode tool

Most distributors publish a network area map, and some offer a postcode or address check. Ausgrid's network area check confirms whether a postcode is on its network, and the Victorian Government's find your energy distributor page includes a map of all five Victorian electricity networks. Links for every state are in the table below.

Postcode tools are a guide rather than a guarantee. IPART's guidance on NSW distribution districts says that networks occasionally operate outside their own district, for example where a network runs down one side of a road and supplies homes on the other side. If your postcode sits near a boundary, your bill or NMI is the safer check.

Ask your retailer

Your retailer knows which network supplies your property because it pays that distributor's network charges on your behalf. A quick call or message will confirm it.

If you live in an embedded network

Apartment buildings, retirement villages and caravan parks are sometimes supplied through a private embedded network. In that case your bill may come from the building's operator, and it may not name the distributor. The AER advises asking your embedded network operator which distribution network supplies the site.

Electricity distributors by state and territory

The NSW, ACT, Queensland, South Australian and Tasmanian network areas above are taken from the AER's distributor list. Victorian areas come from the Victorian Government's distributor page, and Western Australian networks from Energy Policy WA.

NSW: Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy or Essential Energy?

NSW has three electricity distributors, and the boundary between Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy runs through Greater Sydney. Ausgrid gives the example that Balmain and Newcastle are on its network, while Parramatta and Wollongong are supplied by Endeavour Energy. Most of regional NSW is on the Essential Energy network.

Victoria's five electricity distributors

Victoria has five distributors, each covering a separate region of the state. Essential Energy also supplies a small number of Victorian customers near the NSW border. 

Queensland: Energex or Ergon Energy?

Your Queensland distributor has a direct effect on whether you can shop around. The AEMC defines the South East Queensland and regional Queensland retail markets by the Energex and Ergon Energy network areas. In the Energex area, households can choose from many retailers. In the Ergon area, retail competition is limited because a state government subsidy, known as the uniform tariff policy, lets Ergon Energy charge regional customers the same regulated prices as South East Queensland, and other retailers cannot match those subsidised prices.

Western Australia and the Northern Territory

WA and the NT sit outside the National Electricity Market, and retail choice works differently. In WA, households on Western Power's South West Interconnected System that use 50 MWh a year or less are non-contestable customers supplied by Synergy at government-regulated prices, which covers almost every household. 

Horizon Power operates the North West Interconnected System, the Esperance network and more than 30 regional and remote networks, and is currently the only retailer operating in many regional areas.

In the NT, Power and Water Corporation runs the electricity network. Power and Water states that customers in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs can choose their retailer, while Power and Water is the retailer for remote communities and the towns of Jabiru, Alyangula and Nhulunbuy.

Find your distributor from your NMI

AEMO allocates blocks of NMIs to each distribution network. The table below lists the numeric ranges from AEMO's NMI Allocation List (Version 14, November 2025). Match the first four digits of your NMI to find your network.

There are a few exceptions. Some older NMIs are alphanumeric and start with a letter instead, for example Q for Queensland or V for Victoria. Homes in embedded networks are issued NMIs from separate blocks that AEMO allocates to embedded network managers, so their numbers won't match this table. AEMO also notes that its list is a guide only, because a network that was allocated a block of NMIs may not remain the network serving every NMI in it.

Distributor vs retailer: what's the difference?

Your retailer and your distributor do different jobs, and you only deal with your distributor directly in a few situations.

Distributors charge your retailer for the cost of delivering energy to your home, and the retailer passes that cost on through your bill. You don't receive a separate bill from your distributor.

Can you change your electricity distributor?

No. Distribution networks are regional monopolies, and the network that supplies your street is the one you are connected to. Switching retailers changes who bills you and what rates you pay, but the same distributor keeps delivering the electricity. The only way to change distributors is to move to an address on a different network.

How your distributor affects your electricity bill

Network charges are one of the largest parts of your bill. The AER's 2026 to 27 DMO final determination found that network costs make up around 39% to 54% of default market offer prices, compared with around 30% to 41% for wholesale energy costs.

The AER approves each distributor's network tariffs every year, and in all states except Western Australia it regulates the electricity networks.

Because network costs vary between networks, the same retailer can charge different rates for the same plan depending on your distributor. The AER sets a separate default market offer for each distribution region (Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy, Energex and SA Power Networks). For 2026 to 27, the flat rate residential DMO price ranges from $1,899 a year in the Ausgrid region to $2,604 a year in the Essential Energy region, although the AER bases each region on a different annual usage figure. Our electricity cost per kWh guide breaks down current rates by distributor.

This is also why comparison results start with your address. When you compare electricity plans, the offers shown are priced for your distribution network.

When to contact your distributor

Contact your distributor, not your retailer, if you have:

• A power outage. If your supply is interrupted, you should call your distributor or check its website. In NSW, EWON also notes you may be able to claim compensation from your distributor if it doesn't meet regulated customer service standards.
• Fallen or damaged power lines. Stay well clear and call your distributor's faults line straight away.
• Dim or flickering lights across the house. Ongoing voltage or supply quality problems are a network issue.
• A new connection or supply upgrade. This is usually arranged through your retailer or electrician, but the work is carried out on the distributor's network.

Contact your retailer for anything to do with your bill, plan, payments or account. If you are moving, your retailer arranges the connection at your new address. Our moving house utilities checklist covers what to organise and when.

Meters sit somewhere in between. Outside Victoria, the smart meters are managed by retailers, and it expects smart meters to replace older meters by 2030. In Victoria, smart meters are installed by the distributor. Our smart meters guide explains who to contact about a meter in each state.

Photo by Fré Sonneveld on Unsplash