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News$700k worth of savings tips from the government
$700k worth of savings tips from the government

$700k worth of savings tips from the government

Tags: Energy Information
Last updated by Someone on

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you would have noticed all the talk about energy prices. If you have been off the grid (pun intended), there’s no hiding from your energy bill, which will find you eventually. 

And so will the Federal Government’s latest $700,000 ad campaign!

Launched this month, the Powering Forward Campaign reportedly cost tax-payers $300,000 for 60 seconds of airtime during the AFL & NRL Grand Finals, and as much as $700,000 in fees to a Melbourne ad agency.

There's some useful information buried in there, but it's hidden behind propaganda pushing the government's energy policy credentials.

What do you think of the campaign?

Our take? The website contains some useful info for people wanting to save on power bills, for example it links to the Energy Made Easy comparison site and the Victorian Switchon site to compare offers.

It also contains energy efficiency tips for households, which can be handy.

But all that useful stuff is buried behind the silly “powering forward” slogan and some bumph about the Government’s Snowy Hydro 2.0 and gas reservation policies.

They’re important, but we’d like to see the moneysaving info up front and centre!

Here’s something else you can do to save.

A couple of months back, the Fiftyup Club started our Power-Up Campaign,  which now boasts a staggering 50,000 registrations nationally That tells us that you do want to do something about energy prices even if it’s just to send a message to power companies that enough is enough.

While Australia may rank second in the world for quality-of-life, we rate first in the world for the highest energy prices. Data from the Carbon + Energy Markets' MarkIntell service says we’re ahead of Germany, Denmark and Italy with 4 Australian states in the top ten (click here to see the list).

This despite Australia having every energy resource available in the world including coal, wind, solar, nuclear and sea-water hydro power.

What can you do? It’s as easy as picking up the phone, calling your energy retailer and asking for a better deal. Don’t take no for an answer. The energy market has never been so competitive and you can get results, with many members reporting savings in the hundreds of dollars.

Click here to see the latest Fiftyup Club energy offers, extended for a limited time only


 

 

Originally posted on .

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Deana
Deana from NSW commented:

Thanks Phil, we'll see when I get the quarterly. :) 

Darren
Darren from NSW commented:

To answer one of the previous forum questions, I found that: "One Big Switch will be paid between $60 and $135 per account" (reference below) [ Lachlan Harris, One Big Switch Co-founder, 10th August, 2012] 

Darren
Darren from NSW commented:

I'm looking into a better electricity deal too, but it seems some of the reviews don't add up to the claims. My cinical brain says that Lachlan Harris and co are in it for the money... Can't say there are a lot of overly helpful reviews around, but here are the ones I have found that may help: http://personalmoney.com.au/one-big-switch-worth-the-effort/ http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3566911.htm http://www.productreview.com.au/p/click-energy.html from what I can see, the bottom line is, you get up to 17% off the electricity rates of the standard market value for your area, not the entire bill. You need also include off peak tarrifs, solar panels and service charges as well into your calculations. service charges can vary wildly and make up a large portion of your bill. don't jump blindly in, read the fine print and make an informed decision, if it doesn't make sense to you or you can't figure it out ask a friend or relative to help explain if it means a benefit to you or not. 

Tony
Tony from NSW replied to Darren:

Discount is on usage and supply....quite simple really 

Peter
Peter from NSW replied to Darren:

I agree. I believe they are in it for the money. Why else would you do it. As for the electricity, I found I was better off staying with Origin. 

Someone
Someone from NSW replied to Peter:

Origin is only offering us 10% to renew. Click sounds much better at 17% ?? 

Peter
Peter from NSW commented:

I agree, the 17% does sound much better. However if you have solar panels, the offer becomes 7%, which is less than Origin. The trade off is to decide whether the 10cent FIT is going to be better than the Origin 6cent FIT over the year. 

Deana
Deana from NSW commented:

I joined Click Elec. 3 months ago, as I moved into a new place. I was hardly ever there in the beginning and was charged initially $50. The following month it was $69. I'm not complaining, it's just that I'm quite rarely here. I don't get it ! If anyone can shed some light on this, please share. :( Deana/ Sydney 

Phil
Phil from NSW replied to Deana:

Just got off the 'phone with Click Energy. Haven't had my first bill yet, so just wanted clarification on direct debit system. Month one is $50, month two is $50, month three is balance outstanding for quarterly bill. 

Peter
Peter from NSW replied to Deana:

How are you finding your bills with Click Energy. 

bob
bob from NSW commented:

I would like to more safe income from my super now I'm retired ,Bob . 

Christine
Christine from NSW commented:

I just moved to Click Energy I was with Australian Power & Gas and they only offered me 10% discount. I was paying in advance on a monthly basis to ensure I received the 10% discount. Will see how Click goes but it sounds valid as long as the Peak and Off Peak1 are not inflated. Chris 

Tony
Tony from NSW replied to Christine:

Electricity rates are regulated by the State Govt.....discounts by any retailer are on these rates 

Margaret
Margaret from NSW commented:

The electricity savings I have just been quoted are only $275 per annum. My last bill was $403.63 and the one before that nearly $600. These were for one person in a two bedroom home unit with no air conditioner. So really the heating was the main cost in winter and I did not always put the heater on. My last two bills were a lot higher than last year's and how do we know if they are calculated correctly?? Anyway I was a bit disappointed in only being quoted $275 per year as a potential savings. That is only about $69 per quarter. I thought we might save a lot more than that. Regarding the car insurance: I was disappointed to know that the FiftyUp Club went with Coles. After all there has been much adverse press in relation to Woolworths and Coles and their monopoly and manipulation of product prices on their shelves. I did not feel like changing my Insurance to Coles even if it were cheaper. There seem to be a few hiccups to sort out. "Teresa" Sydney 

jim
jim from NSW commented:

Hi Has anybody looked at the service to property charges? They add up to $149.73 including GST for peak and off peak 1. with Click Energy. All other companies I have looked at are $130.28 for both including GST so we are $19 behind before the discount starts. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

This looks like a site for selling financial planning etc??? And electricity contracts. Not happy 

Perrine - FiftyUp Club
Perrine - FiftyUp Club from NSW commented:

Hi there, the offer currently available is for electricity with Click Energy and there are no contracts or lock-in periods. Thank you for the feedback. 

GABRIEL
GABRIEL from VIC commented:

I can't see any offer 

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