Electricity Bill Shot up by a Whopping ~30%. Can Anything Be Done?

abargainer on 24/06/2017 - 15:37
Last edited 27/06/2017 - 11:08 by 1 other user

Today I received my electricity bill for the last month… I was shocked to see almost 30% jump in the per KWH rate in my bill.
The energy provider, in a reply to my mail asking for reason of such a hike said as per the normal industry practice, all their customers are now charged with this hike.

Isn't 30% hike way too much..specially when the economy & my salary doesn't even grow in double digits every year? Any ideas to tackle this problem?

Note: My apartment is in some electricity grid, and it seems I can't change my provider.

Edit : My Electricity provider is https://www.benergy.com.au/ and I do have a meter ID but cannot shift to another provider for some reason.

After going through the comments, it seems we are at the mercy of these companies and nothing much can be done except paying for what is asked :(. Anyways … thanks a lot for all the opinions and comments.

Home & Garden

Comments

    • [Deactivated] on 29/06/2017 - 01:23
      +1

      the poor wont care (they get government benefits)

      OK, you obviously don't self-identify in this category.

      the middle class pays for everything.

      Ah! Found you!

    • Cluster on 29/06/2017 - 17:25
      +1

      The middle class can put some solar panels on their home. The poor can't afford them or are living in rental properties.

  • divergent on 28/06/2017 - 09:31
    +1

    The greedy rich man, leading a well thought out and profitable company, has only one thing on his mind - making money. He does not care about your desire for cheap electricity, but rather his next move to gain maximum income from the least amount of effort. It will not phase him if you have been forced to reduce your electricity usage to a bare minimum in order to save money, for as long as you need what he has to sell, he will simply increase his prices to ensure his profits continue. That is his only focus, and your cries of poverty and discomfort mean absolutely nothing to him. Shopping around may buy you some time, but that won't stop the inevitable price hike coming everyone's way, because all companies have the same goals, some are just not as clever as others and can be seen as temporary saviours.

    Tell me when, in all your years to date, have you seen electricity prices fall? When has the cost of living ever decreased? Prices just go up, while quality goes down, and smart business would have it no other way.

    Sure, you can also blame the government for wrapping everything up in unnecessary and expensive red tape, as they express their self-inflated do-gooder conclusions as unchallenged fact in order to gain their five minutes of fame and fortune, but they are just another part of the unwieldy machine we call 'the system' that seeks to control and use the resourceful population for their own personal success. No matter how much tax they add to the price, we will forever bow down to them because we know no better.

    Which leaves us, the individuals, with the sole responsibilty of having to find a way to pay the everincreasing bill. We demand higher wages, we strive for better paying jobs, we may even inevitably join the ranks of those who take more than they give, slaves to a corrupt company that puts profit ahead of humanity. This is the main struggle of life - to be good, to be honest, to pay your way, and to cope with what the system throws at you. It's not always easy, but as history has shown, there is always a way through.

    I leave you with this … When has the struggle ever overcome you? When have the overwhelming hurdles ahead ever been too great to traverse? Why has life not put us in the grave long before our time? The answer … Because life always provides. Man can be as greedy as he wants, the system can be as inhumane as it desires, and we can have nightmares of the most devastating and distopian future we can imagine, but we still manage to overcome the challenges that each and every day brings us. We survive, and we do it because that's what life does, no matter how bad it gets. In the end, nothing else matters. The uncaring giants of both business and government are nothing compared to the spirit of the individual, even the smallest of us all. And that's why this electricity price increase is meaningless. It's just another hurdle to cross. It's just life as usual.

    • DiscoJango on 28/06/2017 - 11:55
      -1

      "The greedy rich man, leading a well thought out and profitable company, has only one thing on his mind - making money"

      Its funny, because everyone hates this "greedy rich man", but then everyone also admires and adore these rich people driving around in ferraris and mega yachts, yet they are one and the same.

  • eclaw on 28/06/2017 - 10:10

    Has no one considered going robin hood.

    Buy a Tesla, grab all your phones and laptops and charge them at work.

  • PlasticSpaceman on 28/06/2017 - 11:57

    As you are in an apartment block, there are probably regular meetings for the residents. Go to them and bring up the topic of power cost. Come armed with info - for example, get some indicative power prices from different suppliers and compare them with what you're paying now so you can show how much you could each save. If everyone agrees, then potentially the supplier to the embedded network could be changed. Perhaps could even bring up the option of getting some solar panels to reduce overall power usage. Individually, look at using LED lighting and ensuring major power consuming devices like fridges etc are in good condition (not running too cold, no leaking seals etc).

  • CandyMan on 28/06/2017 - 12:17

    Didnt retailers just win a court case to increase rates?
    Doesn't your retailer need to give you notice before rate increase?

    Call fair trading or the ombudsmen and get proper advice

    Good luck

  • cashless on 28/06/2017 - 22:35
    +2

    Use our other natural resource found in abundance, yellow cake.
    Go nuclear like all the advanced nations

    • cheepwun on 28/06/2017 - 23:06
      +3

      Sarcasm?

      France is one step away from a nuclear catastrophe. As are so many other nations who think storage of nuclear waste for millions of years ('undisturbed') is advanced. Let alone thinking it's cheap without accounting for storage of waste into the total cost of power generation.

  • iand on 29/06/2017 - 12:11

    have you checked that the energy company aren't just doing the shifty, of you signed up to a contract with one of those dodgy discount deals that has now expired so you are no longer getting the discount

  • Cleremy on 29/06/2017 - 23:16

    "Can Anything Be Done?"

    A Turner Diaries-style accelerated collapse of the system perhaps? Otherwise no, our ruling class is free to do what they want and we all have to suffer in our collective apathy.

  • FiDad on 30/06/2017 - 15:35

    Just go an email from Poweshop that my rates are going up. did the calculation and it going up by around 17% which is not too bad considering OP situation

  • [Deactivated] on 02/07/2017 - 10:16

    Op, have you used the Vic Govt comparison website?
    https://compare.switchon.vic.gov.au/

    I jumped on last week, then again today, the prices have changed.
    Solar is looking good again with min 11.3c FIT. And you can upload your smart meter data (I get ours from Jemena), and it predicts that going from CLick -> Pacific Hydro or Lumo will cut my annual bill by ~$200 which is pretty impressive.

  • Peck on 04/08/2017 - 08:44

    I am expert at shopping around for the best car comprehensive, 3rd party, contents, etc insurances every year.
    But when it comes to electricity I am clueless.
    I am currently with Energy Australia.
    I have no idea whether I am under a contract or not.
    It all feels too hard for my poor little brain.
    If someone could hold my hand and guide me step by step, then I would be very grateful.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join