Rising power prices have forced more Canberrans to shop around, with the ACT recording the biggest fall in the number of electricity customers on standing offers in the national energy market.
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However Canberra still has the lowest rates of customers switching power deals.
The Australian Energy Market Commission's annual review of the national energy market has found the average Australian household is saving $760 per year on their power bills because of increased competition in the market.
Five new businesses entered the national market in 2018, with switching rates hitting a record high of 24.4 per cent.
The rate of customers switching within and between retailers has increased dramatically in the ACT since 2014.
However the ACT continued to have the lowest rate of switching at 9 per cent. In comparison, the switching rate in Victoria is 29 per cent.
The ACT is the second-most concentrated market in the national energy market, and has been since 2011.
The size and regulation of the ACT market means it's harder for some smaller retailers to enter.
However customers on the median standing offer could save $504 by switching to the minimum market offer, the commission said.
About 51 per cent of ACT customers are on the standing electricity offer, far higher than NSW, South Australia, Victoria and South East Queensland but well below Tasmania (92 per cent).
The proportion of customers on standing offers also fell 19 per cent from 2017 to 2018, the sharpest decline in the nation.
The fall likely because the standing offer on power prices rose by 9 per cent in the year to December, the commission said.
The standing offer for Evoenergy went from $1813 in 2018 to $1975 in 2019 for the median household per year. Those on a market rate paid $1662 last year and $1657 this year.
The number of ACT customers on hardship programs also increased by 34 per cent during 2017-18 to about 1600, however their level of debt decreased from $1784 to $1449.
Disconnection rates have increase by 17 per cent for residential electricity customers and 29 per cent for gas customers.
There was also a 19 per cent drop in the proportion of gas customers on standing offers, although 49 per cent are still on them.
The ACT is the fifth most concentrated gas market, with only three gas retailers in the ACT as of March. No new players entered the market in the past year.
However it has become slightly easier to get access to wholesale gas contracts since the prime minister's roundtable in September 2017.
