Renewable energy is driving Australian power prices down to “among lowest in the world”. 

New analysis by the Australian Energy Council (AEC) - an electricity industry lobby - shows typical residential power bills have fallen over the past three years.

A typical residential bill was $1,434 a year in 2020-21 - about 8 per cent (or $128) lower than it was 2018-19.

The AEC says Australian households are paying the 10th lowest rate among the world's advanced economies.

Australians pay about US17.6¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh), while the average average price among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is US24.2¢/kWh, and as high as US40.9¢/kWh in Germany.

The trend in Australia is being driven by a surge in low-cost renewable energy coming into the system, the AEC says. 

Additionally, fuel costs for coal and gas are generally lower in Australia, while poles-and-wires costs (which can account for up to half of a bill) have been coming down too. 

However, the AEC has noticed some emerging price pressures, such as the cost of meeting and administering government reforms and environmental policies.