What 1st Energy does

1st Energy is an Australian residential energy retailer headquartered in Melbourne, founded in 2014, operating as 1st Energy Pty Limited. It sells electricity and natural gas to households across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory, and has extended into adjacent home-services products including NBN internet (delivered via a partnership with NBN Co and a "First Internet" sub-brand), solar plans, and a moving-house energy transfer service. An in-house "Energy Tracker" tool supplements the core retail proposition by helping customers monitor usage.

The business runs on a direct-to-consumer, online-first model: customers sign up through the website or by phone, with no lock-in contracts and flexible payment options as deliberate positioning levers on Australian price-comparison platforms. Underlying operations rely on partnerships with state-based energy distributors for network access and on NBN Co for internet delivery; the company itself does not appear to operate generation, network, or large-scale physical infrastructure. The team size of 51-100 employees is consistent with a lean retail intermediary that resells wholesale energy and bundles third-party services rather than a vertically integrated utility.

The company is privately held and does not disclose revenue or customer counts. The founder and Managing Director is Liam Foden. It has won the Mozo Experts Choice Award for Victorian electricity in consecutive years, a third-party endorsement it uses in marketing. The business also carries a regulatory blemish: in 2022 it entered an enforceable undertaking with the Essential Services Commission of Victoria after 81 customers were acquired via unsolicited door-to-door contacts in breach of the state's sales ban, which materially curtails that acquisition channel going forward.

Name

1st Energy

Legal name

1st Energy Pty Limited

Website

https://1stenergy.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

1st Energy is a Melbourne-based, privately held Australian residential energy retailer founded in 2014, selling electricity, gas, NBN internet, and solar plans direct-to-consumer across six jurisdictions with no lock-in contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Energy (Electricity & Gas)

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Electric & Other Services Combined (4931)

akta.pro primary industry

Dual-Fuel Retail Supply (Electric + Gas Bundles) (EUAGABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Customer Energy Engagement (In-Home Displays, Portals, Usage Insights) (EUADAFAH)

Keywords

• Residential electricity retail
• Natural gas supply
• NBN internet plans
• Energy retailer Australia
• Household utilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Electricity and Gas Retail: 1st Energy generates revenue primarily through retail electricity and gas supply to residential customers across multiple Australian states. Customers pay for energy consumption based on their selected plans and usage.
2. Internet Services: The company also provides internet services through NBN connections, offering bundled or standalone internet plans to residential customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

1st Energy is an Australian energy retailer that supplies electricity, natural gas, and NBN internet services to residential households across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, and ACT. Customers can obtain a quote by postcode, choose a plan, and sign up online in minutes, with no lock-in contracts and flexible payment options. The company also assists customers with moving house (connections/disconnections) and offers solar feed-in plans for households with rooftop solar.

Product overview

1st Energy is an Australian energy retailer offering a bundled utility portfolio consisting of residential electricity plans, residential gas plans, and NBN internet services. The company operates across multiple Australian states (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, and ACT). The core offering comprises electricity and gas supply as the primary products, with internet services added as a bundled convenience option. Additional support tools include the Energy Tracker for usage monitoring and Moving House Services for customer transitions. The company positions itself as a challenger brand offering no lock-in contracts and flexible payment options, competing on value rather than being a full-service utility platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• First Internet: Internet service brand operated by 1st Energy offering NBN and internet plans.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NBN CocoreTechnology or Integration1st Energy provides internet services through the NBN (National Broadband Network) infrastructure, offering NBN plans to residential customers. They have specific terms and conditions for NBN services including Fibre Connect Program upgrades.
• Energy Distributors (State-based)coreTechnology or Integration1st Energy works with state-based energy distributors for electricity and gas distribution, including meter exchanges, reconnections, disconnections, and fault management. Operating states include NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia.
• Essential Services Commission (Victoria)minorOthersRegulatory oversight body in Victoria. 1st Energy entered into an enforceable undertaking with the commission regarding door-to-door sales compliance.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Alinta Energy: Privately held Australian challenger energy retailer supplying electricity and gas to residential and SME customers across multiple states. Alinta competes directly with 1st Energy on price-led multi-state residential plans and is one of the closest direct comparables.
• Momentum Energy: Australian retail electricity and gas provider (part of Hydro Tasmania) serving residential and business customers in Victoria, NSW, QLD, SA and the ACT. A multi-state residential retailer with overlapping product set and competitive positioning to 1st Energy.
• Tango Energy: Multi-state Australian residential electricity and gas retailer competing on price and digital sign-up. Tango is a near-direct comparable to 1st Energy on geography, customer segment and challenger-brand positioning.
• Red Energy: Australian residential electricity and gas retailer operating in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT — overlapping almost exactly with 1st Energy's footprint. Closely comparable on product, target customer and competitive positioning.
• Powershop: Digital-first Australian residential electricity (and gas) retailer acquired by Shell Energy. Powershop is one of the most directly comparable challengers to 1st Energy in terms of online sign-up, app-led engagement and multi-state residential focus.

Broad incumbents

• EnergyAustralia: Large multi-state Australian electricity and gas retailer serving residential and business customers. Comparable to 1st Energy in product scope (electricity + gas to households) but vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• AGL Energy: Australia's largest integrated energy retailer and generator, supplying electricity and gas to residential and business customers across the same NEM states where 1st Energy operates. AGL is the dominant incumbent that 1st Energy competes against on price, digital experience and bundled offerings.
• Origin Energy: Major Australian energy retailer with residential electricity, gas and solar/battery offerings plus broadband partnerships. Origin competes head-to-head with 1st Energy in multi-state residential retail and is a benchmark for incumbent scale and bundled utility playbooks.
• Shell Energy Australia: Shell's Australian energy retail arm, supplying electricity, gas and broadband to residential and business customers (including through the Powershop brand). Competes with 1st Energy on multi-state residential retail and bundled utility offerings, with materially greater backing.

Emerging players

• OVO Energy: UK-headquartered digital-first challenger energy retailer historically active in Australian residential markets via partnerships. OVO is thematically comparable to 1st Energy as a digital, no-lock-in challenger model, though its direct Australian retail presence has been limited.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/1stenergypower
• LinkedInau.linkedin.com/company/1st-energy
• Xx.com/1stEnergyAU

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1st Energy