Australia also exports a significant amount of energy in mineral products. See also chart below. The Cost of Electricity Much electricity in Australia is now traded so that distribution companies buy at the best price available from hour to hour from competing generators. Australian electricity prices are almost the lowest in the world. Residential prices are one third of those in Japan and half of those in most of Europe.
Industrial prices are one quarter of Japan's and half of most European prices.
Load curve of an electricity system Load curve of the Victorian electricity system through one June weekday in 1996 showing the relative contributions of base, intermediate and peak-load plant duty. The shape of such a curve will vary according to the kind of demand. Here, the peaks reflect domestic demand related to a normal working day, with household hot water systems evident overnight. The peak loads are typically supplied by hydro and gas turbines. Under the new wholesale electricity market, power stations bid into the market and compete for their energy to be despatched.