This was posted 6 years 2 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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[VIC] Get $50 Cheque When You Use The Victorian Energy Compare Website to Compare Provider Offers (1 Per Household)

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The Victorian Government has announced today that from July 1 to December 31 this year June 30 2019, if you use the Victorian Energy Compare website to see if there are better energy deals available for you, the Government will give you $50, even if you don’t end up switching to a new provider. It’s essentially a $50 payment to every household in Victoria (with a limit of 1 payment per household) by filling out a form which takes a few minutes. (Which is why I have not marked it as a freebie).

Government Press Release

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Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - Energy
Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - Energy

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  • Great find. Is there a way of automatically reposting closer to July 1. Cheers.

    • +21

      You can click on "Reminder" up in the deal itself (Above the "Related Store" box)

      • +1

        Great tip, I’ll put it in the main post.

      • Done that. Thanks

      • +1

        The "Reminder" option only appears if one is actually logged in (which I was not at first, obviously). :-\

        • +1

          My apologies, I didn't realise.. however I'm always logged into Ozb :)

        • @bdl:
          No need to apologise! I used a different device than usual so I wasn't logged in, and felt dumb that I couldn't find it. Then I realized the issue.

        • Of course, how else would it remind you? Telepathy?

    • +1

      Mods will most likely highlight it on July 1st

    • Might be good to have the reminder set for July 15th, Census and all that.

  • +1

    Used this many times. Now they introduce this.

    • +1

      Just use it again?
      You don't have to actually switch to get the $50, just a comparison is enough

      • Sure, as soon as there’s another massive price increase, as occurs twice a year.

        • I was thinking it might actually spur a little extra competition from the providers at that time; they know that there will be a pile of people comparing, so some might actually compete on price.

          I've used it in the past and seem to have got an insanely good deal, but I'll definitely check again to see if I can do better :D

        • Vic price rises occur only once a year - Jan 1.

  • +8

    Preparing for the elections later this year, I suppose. But I'm not complaining.

    • +4

      I'm complaining, just wasting taxpayer money, it's be better not to have collected in the first place or to put better oversight on the power companies and their underhanded tactics.

      For every dollar that is given back atleast an equal amount is wasted in the beauracracy that is used up in designing the package and dispersing this money.
      Pretty soon you'll listen to frauds in this scheme just like every other government cash handout.

      • You're losing your mind over this when the government has wasted billions on failed projects. Who cares. This is the least of your government complaining problems.

    • +13

      Your political viewpoints do not constitute a valid neg for this deal.

      • +11

        It's not a deal when it is a waste of Victorians money. What effect is this nonsense going to have on the long term pain households have in paying their bills? People easily jump to free money but it's not free money it is money not going into our schools, hospitals or roads.

        • +11

          If it saves households that use it an average of $50 pa, then it obviously does save householders money overall. More than that, given the advance notice, it pushes electricity providers to have deals from 1st July to capture all those people who will be using it to get the free money - putting an overall downwards pressure on prices.

          Sure it's political game playing on the lead up to the election, same as the 'look out look out, the Sudanese are about' that the libs went in for around the new year. As such it's a hell of a lot more positive than the actions of the lobster mobster.

        • +1

          @sane:

          Yawns. The Apex gang is made up of caucasians (if you insist) and the misuse of $380,000 by the ALP at the last state election is acceptable because they have now repaid it.

          A saving of what sort? It is like the fools running into Big W closing down sale to save a lousy 20% on junk (then wasting an hour to be served) when they could have used the 10% voucher from last week. Do people really factor in their time wasted in some of these deals?

        • The aim is to increase competition, which may lead to lower bills. Even having this promotion starting on this date means retailers might come out with some more attractive deals on 1st July if they know tens or hundreds of thousands will be comparing deals using the site in July. And they can't just offer ridiculous pay-on-time discounts because the site accounts for those. It's may not work but it's also plausible that this will lead to Victorians saving more than $50m on their power bills in total.

        • +5

          @dazweeja:

          The aim is to increase competition, which may lead to lower bills.

          What is wrong with you? How does having ten or twenty businesses duplicating the same function that one used to do lead to lower bills. Our bills went up immediately by 20% when they sold off energy retailing in Queensland and have continued to rise every year since.

        • +6

          @sane:

          Save money? It's coming from our taxes. You never get anything for free from any Government…
          I'd rather that $50 go to better roads, education and public services.

        • +4

          @Maz78:
          I'd rather have my $50 come back to me where I can decide how I want it to be used.
          If I don't claim it then I'll be adding to the funding everyone else that does, so if I claim it it'll be $50 less that can be wasted on (for example) consolations for roads that will never be built or that will but I'll have to pay to use

        • +2

          @Maverick-au:

          I was taking about the potential impact of this particular policy on an already privatised system, not the benefits of privatisation, which I personally think are overstated.

        • +1

          Losers in all the political parties promote competition as the solution for all the world's problems, but more competition just leads to higher prices: more greedy CEOs and shareholders taking our money, parellel bureaucracies need to be paid and are more inefficient than a single payer system.

          That is the reason healthcare costs are so high in the US, more $ going to the useless pen pushers rather than the doctors and nurses who contribute so much to our societies.

        • @linton:
          For every 50$ that comes back 100 is used up on the compliance and delivery costs. What a wasteful way of giving 50$

    • +2

      How can they possibly keep a private enterprise, like Hazelwood, open? They actually attempted to, but the company closed it anyway.

      • -3

        Premier Andrews gifted over $1 billion on a road never built but yet could not arrange some sort of arrangement to keep a much needed power station open for the short term.

        This is a frantic state government who has done nothing for years and is now desperately running around during election year hoping voters forget about how bad his term has been.

        • +2

          First part of your comment is completely irrelevant, and as I mentioned, the French company that owned it had no interest in keeping it open.

        • -1

          @DogGunn:

          Because by reducing supply wholesale price goes up which means more $$$$ for Engie.

          Same reason why AGL bought Liddell and wants to close it.

          I used to work for the company that owned Hazelwood before GDF Suez took over.

        • +1

          @burningrage: So it was the failure of the Liberal's policy to privatise key assets power stations that caused this issue. Got it.

        • +1

          @DogGunn:

          Australians expect the coalition to solve issues with the NBN and NDIS federally although both were ALP policies.

          So why is it not the current ALP state government responsibility to solve a bad privitisation deal?

        • +2

          @HARSHREALITY:

          Australians expect the coalition to solve issues with the NBN and NDIS federally although both were ALP policies.

          I expect them to make it worse, as they're doing an excellent job of screwing them up even more right now.

          So why is it not the current ALP state government responsibility to solve a bad privitisation deal?

          Well they are, it just so happens you clearly disagree with their energy policy.

        • +2

          By giving $50 handouts? This deal is as bad as Nick Xenophon's $75 one off deal to cover pensioner power bills.

        • @burningrage:

          It's a free market. If wholesale prices go up, that's an opportunity for other market players to enter the market. And they'll be entering using renewables because it's cheaper to build than new coal-fired power stations.

        • +2

          The $1bn was the result of the secret side letter that Matthew Guy signed. The compensation for work completed was only $200m. The road would have cost the Victorian public more than $4bn after all the benefits were realised as the cost-benefit ratio was woeful. By any reasonable calculation, Andrews saved Victoria at least $3bn by getting out of a dud deal. That's good financial management, not bad. That's $3bn that can now go into our schools, hospitals and Melbourne Metro.

        • +4

          @dazweeja:

          If it is that cheap why are there renewable subsidies? The only reason why coal is more expensive is due to that fact.

        • @HARSHREALITY:

          The point of subsidies is to speed up the transition to renewable electricity compared to the pace at which it is already taking place in the market. Otherwise, there's a lag between supply leaving the market and new supply being built. It's pretty simple and good public policy.

          And no, electricity from new coal power stations is more expensive than renewables regardless of subsidies. It's only existing coal power stations that are cheaper because the capital costs have been paid off.

        • @dazweeja:

          That one is debateable. If you were to use the solar example, the cost to build may be smaller but per Kwh basis would be far more expensive.

          Put it this way, when I last worked for Hazelwood avg price per Kwh is $25 per Megawatt hours.

          Yes Solar can be had at $0 as its free to earn but that forgetting the Cost of Capital (Solar and Battery expensive)and the fact that it has an intermittent pattern of production.

          In the end I believe clean coal or Nuclear are the least cost to produce electricity. I am saying this as a person who owns Electric car and passionate about solar and battery

        • +2

          @burningrage:

          I said electricity from existing coal power stations is cheaper. Electricity from new coal power stations is not. The last two major wind farms in Australia have contracts to sell their electricity at $60/MWh. As for new coal power stations:

          The projected price for new supercritical coal power comes in at around $75/MWh from the recent Finkel review of the National Electricity Market, based on data produced by Jacobs Consultancy. That is consistent with the price of $80/MWh from the 2016 report by the CO2 Cooperative Research Centre, and less than the $84-94/MWh from the 2012/3 Australian Energy Technology Assessment

          That is the situation now. In 5 years time, renewables will be even cheaper and coal will not.

          Source: http://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-is-coal-still-che…

        • +1

          @burningrage:

          Realistically clean coal doesn't exist (R&D projects have failed and the economics doesn't stack up) and new nuclear is so massively expensive that solar+battery is cheaper.

          5 years ago I might have agreed with you, but today ….

        • @dazweeja:

          I understand that's what the Finkel Review said but what I am trying to say is that many of the predictions presented by experts rarely ever eventuate to what they envisaged.

          This is because they used modelling and you and I know modelling heavily rely on assumptions (excluding any bias factor - eg: If you want to introduce a revenue raising measure by way of introducing red light camera, you would engage a consultancy who would produce the study that would support the argument in favour of that introduction of red light camera which in this case, safety even though that safety benefit may be overhyped due to the assumption reaction times by drivers are standardized - that is, older and younger driver react the same way and same time).

          What would be best is to look at overseas markets who do use this technology and that should be the starting point.

          In either case, they should not have closed Hazelwood as even a laymen would have known reduced supply = higher price = $$$$ for Engie. Closing Liddell would do the same for AGL.

        • @sane:

          I really hope the Solar/Battery experiment succeeds in scale and cost. As I said, I own a PHEV and have solar myself and really like the battery technology but one has to be realistic.

        • +3

          Done nothing for years? Mate what planet are you on. I'm no Labor supporter but Andrews has done more things than the previous Lib governments. He's actually delivered on most of his election promises unlike the Libs. Stop being salty over the east west link because your Libs signed a dud deal right before an election and got turfed for it.

    • +2

      +1 for your guts to telling the truth even if you become a martyr in this forum.

    • Neg removed, the community has spoken.

    • Thanks Matthew Guy.

      Still eating lobsters with mobsters??

      • -3

        I guess you support ice injecting rooms near a Primary school.

        • +4

          Yes, of course. Because ice users are now currently injecting outside the primary school and in the laneways around it. Do you live in that area? My doctor works there and he said he has to leave a consultation once a day to deal with an overdoes. I've only been to see him once since he's been there and he had to leave halfway through. Meanwhile, there has been zero deaths in the Kings Cross injecting room in the 17 years it has been open.

        • +1

          I have an open mind. You should give it a try

    • This wouldn't be a problem if the Libs didn't privatise electricity.

      There's very little the government can do once a service goes private and they are following the laws.

    • +4

      This is Daniel Andrews trying to bribe the electorate. Simple as that.

  • +16

    Sounds like a waste of taxpayers money yet again.

    I can say for certain it’ll cost taxpayers way more than $50 per household who redeems this. Probably cost me $70 -$80 in taxes to claim $50 back.

    • +9

      It'll probably save many complacent Victorians a lot of money in the long run if they do end up switching from companies that may have been rorting them for decades. Don't act as if you know the processes and costing behind implementing this type of policy, Mr Internet Man

      • +5

        Why do those people need a reward to take them out of their complacency?

        • +3

          Because it saves a lot of $$ for the Government both through reducing lost income for those that default on their payments and the Millions in relif grant it pays out. The Marginal Benefit of this out-ways the Marginal Cost of the payout

        • +3

          @ahly92:

          Just remember, if this such great policy why start it in 70 days time? Why not today? Or maybe coz the election isn’t on just right yet? But will be in a few months.

          So obvious

        • +1

          @cloudy:

          Why not today?

          No denying they've clearly thought about the election here.

          All the same, this is an announcement of a measure in the next budget (which is yet to be released). A few months implementation time for the bureaucracy to prepare, and a hold-off until the next financial year for the accountants, isn't uncommon for things like this.

        • @tplen1:

          No doubt, hence why this is a waste, all those accountants, IT, legals involved taking wages and fees just to return cash that I have paid in taxes back towards me, lol. All this frictional cost is invisible to many, but not to me.

      • if someone doesn't switch power providers to the lowest cost already why do you think a minor token sum of $50 will induce someone to act now?

        The savings to moving providers on average are in the hundreds for most households.

        Please mate, use some common sense.

    • +6

      According to all the positive votes they all must think the money comes from the ALP money fairy.

      It can be said that such programs such as the VEU LED upgrade will save Victorians real money continuously but this $50 election vote is just garbage.

      • +4

        Don't forget your mates in the liberal party are still giving BHP, Rio & Fortescue the diesel fuel rebate. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer money goes to 3 extremely profitable companies

        • +1

          Do unions pay taxes?

        • for profit unions now huh, we've become so American its sad

        • They get a Diesel rebate just like any farmer gets it for using their own roads. The diesel excise is meant to be used to upkeep the roads but if you don't use them for specific vehicles why should you pay it?

    • But if you don't claim it you'll be out $70-$80, rather than $201!-$30 if you do.

      • +1

        ofcourse i intend to claim :)

        i just hate programs like this.

        Next it'll be $100 for gas, and then raise taxes $150 to fund the program

  • do they do all suppliers

    • +6

      Nah they only do the good looking ones.

  • How do they know you really live at the address you say?

    • They say in news articles that you will need to provide identification, but how they will implement that, we don’t know.

      • Maybe the cheque will be only sent to your home address or you have to go to an office with id to collect it (if your home address can't receive mail)

  • +13

    Instead of silly gimmicks like this, they need to reform how power plans are advertised so they are more transparent.

    These 40% off pay on time deals are NOT actually discounts, but are late fees. (Pay your bill one day late and cop a ~40% fee on your bill).

    If any other industry did this, there would be outrage.

    • +2

      Actually it's a 67% late fee
      1.0->0.6=40% less
      0.6->1.0=67% higher

      • Yeah, you're right, I couldn't be arsed doing the math. :)

  • +3

    Maybe they should make a website that compares their rates with south australians

    • We're heading down the expensive SA path if we are not careful!

  • +3

    So this is where my tax is going.. Great

  • +2

    Can we please stop with this bashing on an issue some have no economic knowledge on!? For the observer this might seem as a waste of tax money. However, in fact this makes perfect Microeconomic sense.

    It is obviously target at those in the lower income brackets and those currently finding it hard to pay their bills.

    Here are some data from 2016-17 Energy report:

    • Around 80,000 customers participated in hardship programs– the most participants in hardship programs since we started collecting data.
    • We also estimate that around 45,000 new customers entered hardship programs in 2016-17 – a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous year and a 63 per cent increase compared to 2013-14.
    • 26,323 customers were excluded from hardship programs. Customers excluded grew by 46 percent compared to the previous year.
    • While the number of customers entering retailers’ hardship programs continues to grow, more customers are also failing these programs.
    • Overall, the number of customers who were on a hardship program who were subsequently disconnected almost doubled in the last year.
    • The State Government paid out 15 million dollars in relief grants last year and this is expected to increase further.

    Furthermore, One needs to understand the significant loss to the Government when those customers default on their payments or delay it through payment plan. It is not the Providers that bare the cost but the distributes who are owned by the Government and thus lost Income.

    The Marginal Benefit of this initiative clearly out ways the Marginal Cost of the cash payout. It is an Incentive to get people who are currently finding it difficult and prevent those who are likely to fall into such debts.

    • +1

      No one is denying that there are many people out there struggling to pay their power bills, but this gimmick does little to solve the root cause of the high power costs and complex price structures. Simplify the way prices are advertised and structured will at least help people determine if they are on a good plan without needing to go to this website.

      I also hear there are a lot of people struggling to pay their private health insurance, home loan, car insurance etc… should we all get $50 to check if we are on a good deal for all these services too?

      • +1

        The difference between the examples you threw out and here is that a large proportion of power generation is state owned (~70%) and therefore any defaults by customers or delay directly affects State Income. So therefore there is an incentive put forward for consumers. Also home loans, car insurance, private health insurance are NOT necessities.

        As for your 1st statement thats true but you have to take into consideration that the retail market is private it wont be as clear cut as some would make it out to be.

    • if someone doesn't switch power providers to the lowest cost already why do you think a minor token sum of $50 will induce someone to act now?
      The savings to moving providers on average are in the hundreds for most households.

    • excellent points @ahly92. This is a good initiative from the Victorian State Government to help hard-working Victorians save some money with the ever-increasing power bills! Looking forward to saving some big bucks with my power bills on 1 July 2018.

    • +1

      Totally agree. But it's expected - no matter what the government does there will always be harsh backlash without consideration of what they were trying to achieve. Different demographics, different opinions.

  • -6

    I live next to two businesses. If I go this to both of them with my name, they'll have no idea and just hand it to me (the Post has handed stuff for me before to them by mistake so they wouldn't be at all surprised), there's 150 in the kicker for nothing.

    Thanks a bunch, OP!

  • +3

    Not the onion:
    Emboldened after getting away scot free from stealing $388,000 Daniel Andrews takes the next logical step and spends $50,000,000 buying votes.

  • +4

    Socialist morons. Labor are like children with money.

    • +1

      Governments going to waste money, its what they do. At least labor gives it back to the people. If this would liberal it would go straight to lining the pocket of some political ally, while simultaneously screwing over everyone on less than a 7 figure income.

  • +2

    This is Daniel Andrews trying to bribe the electorate in an election year.

    They should use the $50 million (our money) towards making sure we have a reliable and cheap electricity supply, not bribes.

    Disgraceful!

    • That's brilliant. You liked the post above you which insults the alp as being "socialist morons"
      Then suggest in your own post that they should take social ownership of the power..

      • -1

        Rubbish, twist my words. I never said that, I don't believe governments should build a power station. That is as you say, socialist.

        Government can reduce royalties and taxes, speed up planning, open up gas exploration and reserves.

        It's the private industry that builds the power stations.

      • Oh my god I never knew you could see votes… ahhhh shit so many people know I negged them

        • No, it doesn't show other peoples negs. Probably a wise decision by the mods

  • I compared gas only as I am locked in to a particular electricity retailer because of my location in an over 50s village. However, I get 37.5% off electricity usage and about 10% on the standing charge.

    I am paying 2.2 cents / MJ (before GST) on gas to Origin. I noticed that the gas retailers I looked at on this compare web site are charging much more and that's before I even get a pay on time discount of 13% on usage. I could get more but I insist on a paper bill. I don't have any group buying (that is coming soon at 18% on the whole bill) so there is a bit of scope to reduce your bill. I'll be happy to take the $50.

  • +1

    If everyboby gets to take advantage of discounted electricity who do you think will pay for this? Definitely not the power suppliers or sellers. It will be those who have been smart enough to already have the best discounts. Our current cost advantage will be lost.

  • With over 2.2M households in VIC, might need another $50M if successful.
    I guess small business can gain from the household $50 - & access to independent co$ting!!!

    LOL - State following Capitali$m bribery ;-)
    Was MOM offering $50/$100 sign-up freebies :-)

    IMHO a better result than paying middle-man commissions - or wa$ting time on 'FALSE' retail offers?
    Might this prove cost-effective?
    Will be interesting to see.

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