A snapshot of energy prices in six states and territories shows South Australians are paying the most for their electricity bills.

Key points: The snapshot also shows cheapest electricity bills are in Tasmania, ACT

The snapshot also shows cheapest electricity bills are in Tasmania, ACT Report's co-author says a 'trifecta' of events in South Australia is driving prices up

Report's co-author says a 'trifecta' of events in South Australia is driving prices up Households can save as much as $400 each year just by researching best offers

The Tariff Tracking Project, which is produced by St Vincent de Paul Society and Alviss Consulting and has been monitoring prices for eight years, this year shows SA households with moderate energy consumption spending more than $2,000 a year on electricity.

"We looked at 6,000 kilowatt hours consumption a year, which is a very energy efficient family with two kids, where in South Australia it costs more than $2,000 a year but it can fall significantly in other states to $1,400," the co-author of the report and policy and research manager of St Vincent de Paul Society, Gavin Dufty, told the ABC.

"From an annual bill point of view, South Australia is paying the highest. [This is] followed by country NSW, and then south-east Queensland."

The snapshot also shows the cheapest electricity bills are in Tasmania and the ACT.

When the project first started all of the jurisdictions had similar energy prices, but now South Australians pay as much as $1,100 more per year than their ACT counterparts.

Changes to electricity prices in Australia July 2009 to July 2016 as estimated annual bills for electricity regulated/standing offers. ( Supplied: Tariff Tracking Project )

Households can save up to $400 by researching best offers

Last week, the Australian Energy Market Commission released its projections of how much electricity bills would go up when key coal-fired power plants shut down.

Mr Dufty said a "trifecta" of events in South Australia was driving prices up.

"You've got lots of poles and wires and not a lot of people to pay for it so there are higher costs," he said.

"They have a high retail component so that comes into play and also they do have higher wholesale costs than in other states."

The Australian Energy Council's general manager of corporate affairs, Sarah McNamara, told the ABC it was the "energy mix" in South Australia that was driving up prices — and she said she did not believe they would ease any time soon.

"Until there is greater firm generation available to the South Australian grid we would say that things are likely to continue to be uncertain," Ms McNamara said.

"So to South Australians, we say 'Please shop around, look for the best deal available to you and speak to your retailer and get onto comparison sites and be as energy efficient as you can'."

The analysis showed households could save as much as $400 each year just by researching the best offers on the market rather than staying with a retailer after their heavy discounting expires.

"For the majority, if you go to a retailer you might get 20-40 per cent off a bill and then after a year that 40 per cent evaporates into nothing and you're paying a premium price," Mr Dufty said.

"Loyalty is not necessarily rewarded, disloyalty is rewarded.

"Governments are starting to look at this issue, there will be inquiries into the retail component, and the industry needs to explain why they're premium pricing people that aren't shopping around."

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Different jurisdictions 'have their own challenges'

The report also identified the "creeping costs" some consumers were being charged by their electricity retailers if they did not research the best deal and switch to a competitor.

"The retail part of the bill is just the component for the pleasure of companies sending you the bill," Mr Dufty said.

In Victoria, as much as 44 per cent of bills go directly to retailers, amounting to hundreds of dollars.

"We're not including the poles and wires, we're not including the wholesale costs, we're not including green schemes, we've even taken out the GST," he said.

The report found the two worst states for retail costs were Victoria and South Australia.

Ms McNamara said retailers were charging for the cost of delivering electricity to homes and businesses.

"Different jurisdictions have their own challenges and in competitive markets advertising costs can be high, IT costs related to smart metres and other technologies can also be factored in to the cost of delivering electricity," she said.

"Each jurisdiction is different and retailers try to recoup their reasonable costs of doing business."

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