Following political pressure from the Coalition government, several electricity companies – including the big three – have committed to passing on savings to long-time customers who are on less favourable terms than those who actively shop around.
“Almost a million hard-working Australians, who have remained loyal to their energy retailers, have been paying the highest electricity prices on the market, known as standing offers,” said Energy Minister Angus Taylor.
Savings in New South Wales are expected to be between 10 and 15 per cent on average, while in Victoria, savings will be between 10 and 35 per cent on average.
Additionally, a new set of regulations on the energy industry is expected to reduce energy price gouging through comparison websites. Companies selling electricity in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia are now required to publish every offer they make to new customers on the Australian Energy Regulator’s new price comparison website, Energy Made Easy.
This initiative has been implemented to try to combat the number of ‘free’ comparison websites offering deals from as few as three competing retailers. Some of the time, this results in users committing to contracts that are higher than those on offer from other operators, and higher than if they went directly to the company they are signing up with through the comparison website.
Victoria implemented a similar website last month, the Victorian Energy Compare website.
Have you shopped around for your energy deal? Did you use a comparison website? Are you sure you are getting the best rate available?
Related articles:
Spotlight on energy comparison sites
How to cut your power bills
Don’t get burnt by energy offers
