ShatabdiA low overnight electricity rate can look appealing when your laundromat opens around the clock. Its value depends on when customers actually run the machines, and what else appears on the bill.
To compare offers, price the same electricity use under each one. Include demand charges, daily supply and other fees. The example below separates the usage, demand and supply charges so you can see what changes.
Start with the machines and when they run
Picture a laundry where customers use several washers and dryers at once. The electricity needed depends on the machines, their programmes and how they heat water or dry clothes.
Dryers can use electric resistance heating, gas or heat-pump technology. Gas-heated dryers still need electricity. Washers may heat water themselves or draw from a central hot-water system.
That means two laundromats with similar opening hours can have quite different electricity bills. Keep gas costs separate when comparing electricity offers, and include both fuels when assessing overall running costs.
Your bills and smart-meter history show when the whole site uses electricity. Use a full year where available. Opening 24 hours does not mean most machines run overnight; an attended wash-and-fold service may also have a different pattern from self-service customers.
Separate customer activity from opening hours
Compare the meter profile with the times customers actually wash and dry. A site open all night may still be busiest after work. If staff also process wash-and-fold orders, record that work separately so the quote reflects both services.
For a machine replacement, give the provider the model, heating type and expected cycle activity. A move from gas heating to electricity changes which account carries the load. Keep both energy bills when assessing the investment, even though the electricity offer only prices one of them.
Compare usage and demand together
Time-of-use pricing applies different usage rates during specified periods. A flat rate applies the same price per kilowatt-hour, or kWh, throughout the day. Check each offer’s hours, including weekend and seasonal rules, against your actual machine activity.
Some offers also charge for demand: the power drawn during particular intervals. Several electrically heated machines running together can increase that figure.
For example, an average load of 30 kilowatts, or kW, sustained for half an hour uses 15 kWh. The 15 kWh contributes to usage charges. If that interval sets the demand figure under the tariff, the 30 kW can also produce a demand charge.
A brief start-up spike is different from sustained demand. Check the tariff’s units, measurement interval, eligible hours and look-back period. Our demand charges guide explains the details. A flat rate can still include demand charges, so check that line separately.
Compare the total: one laundromat, two offers
This laundry uses 6,000 kWh in 30 days, half of it off-peak. That gives the TOU offer a substantial low-rate contribution before demand and supply charges are added.
Illustrative Cable rate: 23c/kWh, above the 20c TOU off-peak rate. Actual pricing is set for the site. The battery supports flat-rate pricing by shifting electricity purchases towards lower-cost periods.
| Charge | Quantity | Time-of-useWith demand charges | Cable flat rateBacked by a battery | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | Total | Rate | Total | ||
| Peak usage | 1,200 kWh | 48c/kWh | $576.00 | 23c/kWh | $276.00 |
| Shoulder usage | 1,800 kWh | 30c/kWh | $540.00 | 23c/kWh | $414.00 |
| Off-peak usage | 3,000 kWh | 20c/kWh | $600.00 | 23c/kWh | $690.00 |
| Usage subtotal | 6,000 kWh | — | $1,716.00 | — | $1,380.00 |
| Demand | 30 kW × 30 days | 30c/kW/day | $270.00 | Absorbed by Cable | $0.00 |
| Supply | 30 days | $2.663967/day | $79.92 | $2.663967/day | $79.92 |
| Total for 30 days | — | — | $2,065.92 | — | $1,459.92 |
Even with half the electricity used off-peak, the Cable column is $606 lower over these 30 days: $336 from usage and $270 from demand. Off-peak electricity costs $90 more at 23c, offset by $426 less for peak and shoulder use. A laundry with still more overnight activity needs its own calculation.
These are illustrative electricity charges, including GST, not typical savings or a site quote. Both columns use the same supply input; other fees and contract costs are excluded. See how we built this example for the assumptions, exclusions and full calculation.
Check what could change
Before requesting a comparison, note any machines you plan to add or replace, changes to heating technology, or longer trading hours. Ask the provider to show how those changes affect its estimate.
Then check the daily supply charge, metering and other fees, discounts and solar credits, using the same GST basis for every offer. The business electricity bill guide helps you locate these items.
Read the contract term, rate-change conditions, deposit and return conditions, and early-exit charges. Include any cost of leaving your current agreement. A flat rate across the day does not mean the rate is fixed for the whole contract.
How Cable fits into the comparison
Cable funds, owns and operates a battery at suitable laundromats. It charges in lower-cost wholesale periods and uses stored electricity when prices rise. Cable absorbs network demand charges; the laundry pays one usage rate across the day plus daily supply. More electricity use still means a higher bill.
Discuss battery space, landlord consent, any additional site work and installation timing, especially if the laundry trades around the clock. Standard installation does not keep machines running during an outage.
Cable covers suitable Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy sites in NSW. Joining requires at least six months of smart-meter data, although you can enquire earlier. The initial term is three years, with annual CPI adjustments and other permitted rate changes. Check the personalised offer’s deposit, return conditions and early-exit charges.
Get an electricity quote for your laundromat
Share your contact and energy-account details, then authorise access to your usage history. Tell Cable about planned equipment or fuel changes so the offer reflects the laundry you expect to operate.
Get a quote for your laundromat
Sources
Sources checked 3 November 2026. Comparison and pricing explanation updated 5 November 2026.