Mr Downes said people did not need to sign up to the new providers to save money, but the extra competition was good for the market. "I don't think they're going to be the overnight solution to south-east Queensland's lower prices," he said. "But the fact that they're there is good news and they should help competition overall." But he said people were not necessarily being ripped off if they were with one of the big three energy providers. Mr Downes said if customers wanted to find the cheapest deals they needed to be willing to switch providers every year or two to access discounts.

"Because the only way you're going to get the cheapest deal is to be the new customer," he said. "You can say with confidence that anyone who has been with the same electricity provider for two years or more is almost certainly paying too much. "Nobody is going to come around to your house and say I would like to take $200 off your annual electricity bill you have to be proactive and you have to go searching for these deals because they're not going to come to you," he said. Mr Downes said there was no such thing as loyalty in the electricity market. "You need to be a ruthless customer," he said.

"Ask them to reinstate the discount [after it expires], they probably won't, in which case you need to look elsewhere." Mr Downes said people could save about $250 to $300 a year by switching to a market offer contract or up to $350 a year by switching to another retailer. But Mr Downes said to save the most money, people should look further than the discounts and investigate retailers' price fact sheets. Energy Minister Mark Bailey urged south-east Queenslanders to re-evaluate their electricity retailer and plan in 2017. "Thanks to major reforms, south-east Queenslanders now have access to flexible electricity pricing as a result of the newly deregulated retail electricity market," he said.

"Since the electricity deregulation reforms were implemented during 2016, five new retailers have entered the residential market and five new retailers have entered the small business market, making a total of 17 retailers in the residential market, and 16 retailers in the small business market." Customers can now choose from more than 130 new offers in the residential market. "This means south-east Queenslanders can benefit from increased competition and innovation, including a range of household-specific products," Mr Bailey said. Opposition Energy spokesman Michael Hart said it was the LNP who deregulated the retail electricity market in south-east Queensland. "But Labor delayed it by 12 months, costing families $400 in savings," Mr Hart said.

"Because of this delay, new energy companies have been slow to enter the market." Mr Hart said the LNP welcomed the entrance of Powershop and Red Energy to increase choices for Queenslanders. But Mr Bailey said the government deferred deregulation with the support of consumer groups such as the Queensland Council of Social Service and Queensland Consumers Association and National Seniors, following recommendations from the Queensland Productivity Commission. He accused the LNP of rushing through the decision to deregulate the industry and not consulting with stakeholders. "We launched an extensive consumer education campaign to ensure all people in south-east Queensland have the knowledge and understanding they need to properly engage with the deregulated retail market," Mr Bailey said.