Near-tragedy shows the real dangers of high power bills
An almost-tragic story today about a family who nearly died demonstrates what the Club has been saying very publicly about power prices: they're now so high, they're becoming a health issue.
Overnight, a western Sydney family suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from bringing an outdoor charcoal burner into their living room to keep warm. Read the article here
This story and other recent tragic examples are an extreme consequence of what we highlighted two weeks ago: 3 in 5 members we surveyed are not using their heater for fear of the next bill, which is a serious health risk for older Australians and families with children.
The average bill is over $2000 a year and it's doubled since 2007.
Our advice to all billpayers is 3-fold:
- Make sure you're on a good plan and you're getting a discount. If your discount is less than 15% in NSW or Victoria, or less than 7% in QLD, you should shop around for a better one. You can start by looking at the Club's special offers with Click Energy. Click here to see the offers on your dashboard
- Please, turn off the beer fridge and turn down the temperature on your hot water service before you turn off the heater. Safety first! There are ways to cut your usage without going cold.
- Make sure you're getting all the rebates and concessions you're entitled to. These are notoriously under-subscribed, but some low income households and families can get up to about $250 a year.
The NSW Dept of Energy and Resources website has all the info on rebates in NSW but here's a quick Guide for NSW households to make sure you're getting all the rebates and concessions you're entitled to:
$150 FAMILY ENERGY REBATE (Applications open next Wednesday 1 July.)
To be eligible, you must:
- Be a NSW resident; and
- Have been assessed by the Federal Department of Human Services (DHS) as being eligible for the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) A or B at any time during the 2013-2014 financial year, and have received an FTB payment in respect of that eligibility; and
- Be an account holder of an electricity retailer, or a long-term resident of a residential community (caravan or mobile home park), whose name appears on the electricity account for supply to her or his principal place of residence.
$235 LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLD REBATE
To be eligible for the Low Income Household Rebate, you need to:
- Be a NSW resident; and
- Be a customer of an electricity retailer, or a resident of a retirement village, or a long term resident of a residential community; and
- Your name must be on the electricity account for supply to your principal place of residence; and
- You must hold either of the following cards:
- A Pensioner Concession Card from the Department of Human Services (formerly Centrelink) or the Department of Veterans' Affairs; or
- A Health Care Card from the Department of Human Services; or
- Gold Cards from the Department of Veterans' Affairs marked with:
- Totally and Permanently Incapacitated or
- Disability Pension or
- War Widow or War Widower Pension
$250 COMBINED CAPPED REBATE:
If you are eligible for both rebates above you can receive more support in the form of an annual, combined, capped rebate, currently $250.
So make sure you're not missing out on what you're entitled to.
Meantime, our campaign for lower power bills in NSW continues with over 3500 people so far contributing to our FiftyUp Club Power Price Submission. In the weeks to come we will develop their feedback into a submission to put before the court currently deciding how much NSW electricity network charges power bills will come down by in the next 5 years.
