The Greens want state electricity prices to be re-regulated, as energy company chiefs prepare to discuss power bills with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The Greens say the commonwealth should give NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia until the end of the year to re-regulate electricity prices.
If the states fail to do so, the party wants the Australian Energy Regulator to be put in charge of pricing.
"Deregulating electricity prices has failed. It is time the government stepped in and capped electricity prices," Greens MP Adam Bandt said.
Under the Greens proposal, retailers would be required to provide a default standard offer based on the average regulated price in the ACT, above which retailers could not charge.
The cap would be determined by the states or the AER, and would result in prices in NSW, Victoria, SA and southeast Queensland being effectively frozen at or below 2017 levels in real terms, the Greens say.
They say based on a typical household, yearly bills are on average $2771 in SA, $2218 in Victoria and $2198 in NSW - all of which have been deregulated. This compares with $1576 in the ACT, which is still regulated.
The Greens proposal comes as Energy Australia, Momentum Energy, Simply Energy, Alinta Energy, Origin Energy, AGL and Snowy Hydro are expected to front up together with peak body the Australian Energy Council on Wednesday
The Turnbull government says households are paying far higher electricity prices than needed because they're not getting the best deals possible.
It blames a lack of transparency by electricity retailers and the difficulty in switching providers.
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