How to reduce your gas and electricity bills
There is a world of difference between having a whinge or doing something about it.
And it seems that millions of Australian consumers are deeply unhappy about the prices they are paying for gas and electricity but most of them are more prepared to have a whinge than to take some action to help themselves out.
A recent survey found that Australians feel like they are being ripped off more by their power companies than even supermarkets, however almost half haven’t considered switching their retailer over the past year.
Those figures come from Energy Consumers Australia, which looked into how families are dealing with soaring energy bills.
Just 55% of consumers feel they they’re on a good electricity plan, down 4% from 2023 and also lower than supermarket’s value ratings.
Customers very dissatisfied with energy costs
That extraordinarily high level of dissatisfaction is understandable given the hefty rise in both electricity and gas prices over the past few years but such disappointment needs to spur some action rather than just become something to complain about.
In many cases households are still paying prices that reflect the big hikes introduced in the middle of 2023 and they could be saving a considerable amount of money by comparing other energy offers.
According to the survey, the main reason many people don’t switch providers is that they believe it will be a time consuming and difficult process.
Start with some window shopping
However, that doesn’t apply to doing a bit of window shopping, plus the system for changing retailers has become more streamlined.
The best way to do that is to use a government comparison website – in the case of Victoria, compare.energy.vic.gov.au or for other states energymadeeasy.gov.au.
Plug in the details from the current bill and check the latest offers to see how much cheaper they are.
While you are at it, check your own bill for the box on the first page that will normally say if you are on the cheapest plan with your current provider – if not, then making that change and saving money with the same provider could be even easier, if the cheaper offer is competitive.
Are the savings worth some trouble?
The question you then need to ask yourself after doing the window shopping is “are these savings enough to motivate me to change providers?”
If the answer is yes, then start the switch and be prepared for a bit of work around final bill readings.
It is also worth checking to see if there are any fees or charges from your current provider if you switch before starting the process.
Usually, the process is fairly straight forward and can be done online or through a phone call to the new provider.
Then there is a ten-day cooling off period to make sure you are happy with the decision and it is time to get ready to get a welcome pack from the new provider and a final meter reading and bill from the old provider.
It is also worthwhile putting a reminder in the diary to check for cheaper plans in a year’s time, just to make sure your latest plan remains competitive.
Annual comparison reviews are also worth pursuing for many other bills too, including insurance, because many retailers use customer loyalty as a tool to extract extra money rather than a signal to reward their customer.
Once you are on a plan that offers much better value you can relax for a while and stop whinging – at least about gas and electricity bills, anyway.