The Morrison government has set a target to reduce power prices by 25 per cent, which it says could save the average household up to $185 a year.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the target would see the spot price in the national electricity market reduce to less than $70/MWh by the end of 2021.
"This will have a material benefit for all Australians," he said in Sydney.
Mr Taylor says the government has been "building levers" to achieve the target, such as underwriting new generation projects, as well as introducing a default market offer and reliability obligations for energy retailers.
But one of the levers is the Coalition's stalled divestment legislation, which would force energy companies to split if they deliberately jack up prices.
Labor does not support the proposed laws.
The Coalition's new target would result in savings less than those promised under the dumped National Energy Guarantee, which the government claimed would help drive electricity prices down by $550.
At least $150 of that saving would have flowed directly from the NEG policy.
Senior government minister Mathias Cormann says the price cut target will be taken to the election, admitting that energy prices are higher than the government wants them to be.
"Which is why we have committed ourselves to a 25 per cent electricity reduction target by the end of 2021," he told Sky News.
But Labor leader Bill Shorten wants Australians to take the target with a grain of salt, saying the government has gone through multiple energy policies while power prices have increased.
"The one thing you can set your clock by in Australia is that when the Liberals have a new 'hey presto we're going to reduce your power prices by ...' - your next bill will probably go up," he told reporters in Cairns.
"Haven't we heard this before?
"The reality is, the single biggest driver of power prices in this country is a lack of an energy policy."
Mr Shorten says Labor's 50 per cent renewable energy target will drive prices down.
Meanwhile, the energy minister and Labor's energy spokesman Mark Butler are at odds over an election debate, with both claiming the other has refused an offer to discuss policy issues.
Mr Taylor said he had invited Mr Butler to Friday's event in Sydney, while the Labor MP said he asked the minister to debate policy at the National Press Club.
