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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

Related Stores

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

closed Comments

  • Thanks Op for sharing this great post!

  • Right wing people are loud and scary

  • Thanks for this information, already added into calendar.

  • +1

    I'm going to donate my $50 to the Liberal Party so they can use it for the next election… Thanks Dan !!!!!

    • The Liberal Party thanks you for your generosity! Your donation will be put to good use by finding new and inventive ways to sabotage the NBN

    • you are a great person, thank you!

    • Wow couldn't find a charity?

  • Found an article that could help in using the Victorian Energy Compare website - https://oznodrama.com/power-saving-bonus/

  • All done

  • Thanks so much for this OP, all done

  • Ditto.

  • Done. Thanks ozb reminders!

  • All done, thanks reminders!

  • +2

    Lumo changed their online account stuff about a week ago - just realized it was in response to this as I am unable to download meter data or see my usage now. Dodgy.

    • +2

      You should only need access to a recent bill.

      • That's about all I can do now. Pulled my meter data from the Powercore website.

    • +4

      Try your wholesaler. Can’t speak for all of them, but Powercor/Citipower let you view usage and download electricity consumption data (in the Energy Compare file format) directly. Just need your NMI (meter number - shown on your bills) to create an account.

      • +1

        Thanks!!

        I've spent hours over the last year on the phone with Origin then Amaysim to try and get meter data working on their account sections. I used to be able to with Origin, but then it stopped giving readings (but was still being billed for actual readings), then when I changed to Amaysim for a free pair of headphones and slightly cheaper rates, they also weren't able to get the meter data despite a few calls requesting it.

        I just signed up to the citipower website on your reccomendation, and now I have all the stats + more I wanted. Can even track the KW/max kw draw/suburb average by the hour to the year.

  • +2

    Reminder very handy.

  • Does anyone know how we're getting this credit? Is it through the Post? or through your bill?

    • Probably on next bill

    • Cheque in the mail

  • Anyone else found the form to be a bit buggy to fill in on the mobile?

    • Kind of. Just click out of the box after entering details and it realises you are done.

  • You lost me at NMI number…

    • When you upload your bill it should be filled in automatically.

  • Done, took 5 minutes. You do need nmi/meter number just FYI. (They are on your bill usually 2nd page above all the rates and charges.

    Edit: and you account number, also on your bill, front page

  • +4

    did anyone else actually find the site useful? I seem to have saved myself $400. Sounds too good to be true though?

    paul

    • +3

      same here $500 for my electric bill!

  • +1

    Done - another donation coming to Dan Murphys soon.

  • +2

    thanks submitted it today and im actually going to make a change. Damn Red Energy!!!

    • Am with red energy , can I ask how much you are saving and whom you are switching too ?

      • I've switched from red energy to amaysim due to the fact that red can only offer 10% pay on time disc and amaysim does 35%. And they're rates as quite competitive as well.. Only electricity though as their gas rates are not as competitive.

        • Keep in mind that if you switch your electricity out, you might lose your gas discount with Red.

        • +1

          @hmmz: nah.. I've still got them.. This compare website has given me alternative gas suppliers which Ill have a read and might switch with them. Stuff red energy!

        • +1

          @angelkulit025: 35% off $200 is more than 10% off $120 though. Make sure you actually compare the daily connection fees and peak/off peak rates. Companues that offer high "pay on time" discounts are often just as expensive if not more. Who doesn't pay their bills on time? Every single one of my bills is direct debit..

        • +1

          @Putnum:thanks for the advice.. I've studied all the numbers up. The only difference is the daily supply charge but not much. And the POT disc is the main kicker.

        • @angelkulit025: Well their "feature" for differentiation is they are Aussie run and owned. I'm with them too

        • +1

          Amaysim customer here.

          The discounts are dodgy. You won't get a discount on the first bill, as the 35% only applies to the next bill using 35% of the first bill.

          So (for monlthy billing) if on your first month you use $100 of electricity, and the next month you use $200 - you will be billed $100 for the first bill and $165 for the second. I'm about to receive my 3rd bill from them and I have a feeling I'll get the 35% off $165 as the discount to it rather than an actual 35% discount on that bill.

          Come time to pay the last bill, you never get that discount. They will always have 1 month from you paid in full.

        • @c0balt: that really sounds dodgy! I will look on to it. And might switch to another Company which offers a legit discount.

  • Just did mine. Pretty simple if you have a pdf bill

    • Simple of the pdf bill upload function actually works…. I found it didn't work with my Red Energy bill.

      • Same. Tried a couple of times.

  • Completed it, but how do you get the $50?

    • Have you read your email?

      • Where do you enter your email on the form?

  • This is gonna get hammered once everybody wakes up. Calling it now, its gonna crash for sure

  • +1

    That worked very well with the pdf

    Now someone should post something on ozB that's exactly $50.
    Profit

  • +1

    That was super duper easy!

    I didn't make a switch as I was already on Tango, there was only one cheaper one but it wasn't by much, and I appreciate the fact that Tango isn't like 'SUPER MEGA 50% OFF DISCOUNT'.

    Great tool though, glad to see people making the switch, hopefully companies will wake up and reduce their rates more.

  • +2

    I am on embedded network, which sucks big time since I can't change provider anytime I want. I just find it weird that my account has nmi and meter number too, which I thought is not applicable to household using embedded network.

    • +4

      Embedded networks can still claim the $50.

    • +3

      Same here. Brought an apartment off the plan. Used the Energy Compare website to find the best provider (was Globird) rang them up, and told me that property is on an embedded network. I was like what on earth is that, and later found out the info about them. I found out using the site today that I could be saving about 30% but can't do anything about it. So frustrating! At least I still get the $50.

    • +5

      You can still negotiate with an embedded networks if you are in Victoria. Thee are new rules where they have to charge market prices. i managed to negotiate my rates down because of this. Took me a few weeks of back and forth because most people don't now know about the new rules and so the pricing department was a joke to talk with. But I succeeded.

      Below is what I used to argue.

      Victorian government's rules that embedded networks must: "Charge their customers no more than the price of the local area retailer’s standing offer, unless the Essential Services Commission has set an alternative cap based on market data."

      https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/89…

      • +2

        I am looking at this too https://www.aemc.gov.au/our-work/our-current-major-projects/…

        Power of choice to consumers in embedded network. Apparently, it has been regulated since DEC 2017, but i don't feel i have any power. None of my strata manager and electricity provider mentioned this at all.

      • +1

        I laughed at this

        Provide information to their customers in plain English
        about their right to choose their retailer
        , assistance for
        hardship, the flexible payment options available to
        them and contact details for faults and emergencies;

      • I Tried this but Origin wouldn't budge since the "standing offer" is the basic rate before any discounts. The VIC energy compare shows "market offers" which are discounted.

  • Cheers OP

  • Bugger it, I got no idea.

    How do you get the money? Is it a cheque in the mail or do they contact your company and knock 50 off as I've heard elsewhere or what? Haven't done it yet, so if it's obvious when you actually do it, sorry for unnecessary questions.

    • Doesn't say. It says my claim is being processed, should find out in a week or two. My guess is they will make it clear how you receive it in the confirmation email. That or it was written in the statement thing that I didn't read but agreed to.

    • I've heard it's sent as a cheque in the mail 4-6 weeks after making the claim.

      • +3

        It might turn up in Oct along with a how to vote card ;-)

  • Can anyone confirm if the $50 comes as a credit to the next electricity bill? I am in the middle of a churn… decided that the safer approach would be to do an upload of my new invoice once the switch comes through in case my dodgy old provider pockets it for themselves.

    • I assume it comes via cheque as they state it comes in hardcopy to the address.

      • That is my understanding (a mailed check).

  • Cool, all done. Already had the cheapest option since I checked this site when I signed up :) Nice to reaffirm it though.

  • -2

    Thanks for the deal. May as well get $50 back from some of their tax increases.

    Of course it's another Government thought bubble waste.

    The results I got were FAKE and MISLEADING. I thought what's going on, AGL is expensive?
    But the AGL offer was listed with "No Conditional discounts".
    These discounts, i.e. pay on time, are typically 20-35% !! So how can you possibly compare properly??

    Typical useless Government.

    • +2

      Honestly you'd be surprised at the savings even if you did have a discount from going shopping. AGL don't always give out the discount to people who stay with them and don't go shopping. Also the discounts seem to be somewhat factored into the calculation if you do the questions correctly

      Got a 44% discount myself on electricity and after running the numbers tango seems to come out ~$50 ahead due to sneaky increases on pricing.

      example from "useless government" website

      22.67 ¢/kWh for peak tango usage

      37.00 ¢/kWh for peak AGL usage

      10.73 ¢/kWh for offpeak tango usage

      23-29 ¢/kWh for offpeak/shoulder AGL usage

      96.00 ¢/day for tango service charge
      131.00 ¢/day for AGL service charge

      Then add in that the AGL discount is ONLY on electricity usage not on TOTAL cost you can get savings depending on your usage.

      • Thanks for the reply.
        Does Tango offer any "conditional discounts"?

        You must be on a different deal from AGL than I am.
        Mine is Peak .29 ¢/kWh
        Controlled Load .19 ¢/kWh
        -35% pay on time.

        So .1885/.1235 after discount, pre-GST.

        So appears AGL is cheaper?

        Therefore hard to say without this conditional discount factor.
        So website is causing confusion and misleading.

        • +1

          Tango doesnt have discounts on most I think. eselect plan has $50 off first bill but flat base rate (18c?) kwh loading.

          Looks like your AGL rates are cheaper but keep in mind the service charge (which is compulsory) is usually $30 more expensive with AGL.

          So if you use more than 1000kwh on peak&off peak each AGL wins. Under and lower service charge might make Tango slightly better.

        • @gagiman:
          Yes, appears it depends on how much you consume. Shows how hard it is to actually work it out.
          So many plans, so much complexity…
          I feel sorry for the oldies and others who are lost easily.

  • Getting this error.

    Invalid bill type, please upload a valid Electricity bill

    I did have to convert my 16.67MJ daily consumption to KWH by multiplying with 0.2777777777778.

    =4.63055555556

    Anyone else with this error here?

    • +4

      Fixed it by uploading electricity bill instead of gas bill

    • MJ consumption is for gas and kWH is for electricity.

    • Yes I first got told that my bill was invalid and when I tried again it said they are experiencing problems with the PDF uploading and would I care to put it in manually. I messaged them and told them to get in touch when they’ve fixed it.
      On day 1 is it possible it’s already been ozbargained?

      • You can enter the details manually, then on the next page upload a PDF of the bill.

  • Thanks OP. Bloody brilliant.

  • Thanks OP :)

  • Got mine, the site isn't up to date with current offers from companies. I went to switch my gas and elec, only to find the company I was switch to is now charging higher rates.

    • +1

      Worth checking out http://wattever.com.au. They have a full market comparison and tend to list conditional offers better like many people don't know Amaysim/Click don't discount first and last month.

    • The site gives you an offer code. You use that code to get the advised rates.

  • Should be getting my $50 and it also confirmed that my current deal is the best out there.

  • simple and straightforward process using pdf bill…thinking of moving to amysim from re, really liking the 35% pay on time discount! Received an email with a reference number saying i will receive a confirmation email regarding the status of the claim in 10 days otherwise, need to email them.

    • +1

      Careful of Amaysim (which include Click Energy)… no discounts on the first and last bills and if you have solar then they stiff you some more with taking the FIT off the prediscounted rates. So in other words try to avoid them if possible.

  • Our electricity prices are double the prices in the USA.
    We should never have been in this position of energy prices being such a big deal.
    We should have the cheapest energy in the world rather than the most expensive.
    The government actions made power stations unviable and lead them to shut down.
    Now we have this ridiculous problem.
    This website is a retarded response to a problem of their own making.
    It's designed to imply the fault is not with the government, however it precisely is.

    • +1

      Well consider the USA has about 13x the population, so they have a massive economies of scale benefits.

      Why should we have the cheapest energy in the world?

      And you've got it wrong. It's the market's actions that have made power stations unviable.

      You sound like one of those people who complained bitterly about how the govt let those automobiles ruined the horse & carriage industry.

      • Economies of scale, no that's not it. Hungary and Estonia, smaller countries are also half our prices.

        https://ibb.co/gRtG2J

        We should have the cheapest energy in the world because we have plentiful resources, plenty of space for stations and a first world labor force.

        We used to have cheap energy - in the now distant past, i.e. 20 years ago.
        What changed?

        • +1

          Well if you read the Grattan Institute report,. Its mostly
          - old coal fired power statiin are end of life and very expensive to run
          - gas prices have sky rocketed in the past decade
          - gold plating infrastructure of the early 2000's (this started with Jeff Kennett starting the trend to privatise the distribution network, companies like Singapore Power uaed it as a cash cow - I quite enjoyed the ~9% dividends used to get from them)

          Then there's the market manipulation by generators who are apparently allowed to withhold supply in peak times to increase prices across thr national grid.

          Coal power stations take about 30yr to pay off. Which is why no ine interested in building one as in ~10yrs they'll be economically unviable (unable to compete with solar, wind, geo-sequestration, etc).

          As for those smaller countries, Hungary is 1/80th the size if Oz, it has a population density of 108 people/km2 (Australia is 3/km2, or on just the east coast it's 7 people/km2) so infrastructure costs are significantly less in these other countries. Look at your power bill. 33% of mine is the connection charge which is supposed to cover infrastructure, that's where the economies of scale come into play. If we had a population density of 108/km2 vs 7/km2 those costs would come right down because its a fairly fixed cost over distance. The higher the population density, the cost is spread across more people, thus cheaper per household.

          As for Estonia. That is a different kettle if fish. 90% of its energy comes from shale oil, which is mined locally, the power company (owned by the Govt) owns the mines & power stations. Again Estonia has a population density of 30/km2 not really comparable to Australia.

          IMHO we should follow the path of countries like Malaysia, middle eastern countries (and I believe Indonesia), where a percentage of energy sources (such as gas, coal, oil) be set aside for the local market at a small profit and then sell off excess on the open market. It's a bit if a socialist idea, but since the country as a whole owns the resources, then the country as a whole should benefit from them, before allowing companies to then onsell excess. Of course the reality if this is that we heavily rely on foreign money & expertise to develop and run these energy projects and if there's not a decent profit to be made, they'll invest elsewhere. So its a bit of a catch-22.

          The good news is that renewable energy is getting a lot cheaper to setup and run. It's a lot quicker to setup and run. When we nail cheaper energy storage it'll be a lot more stable and sustainable.

        • @supabrudda:
          Oh I see, you're on an anti coal greenie mission.

          I simply stated facts.

          Facts are
          - government legislated against coal.
          - coal stations shut down, sure some may be old in need of upgrade, and now they won't be. Asia is installing thousands of new ones. Germany too.
          - power supply tightened.
          - blackouts now in SA and the worlds most expensive power.
          - ridiculous and polluting batteries that will power SA for one minute.
          - businesses shutting down due to cost and unreliability
          - Australia is now uncompetitive.

          Meanwhile Asia is expanding massively in coal while we shoot ourselves in the foot.
          We export huge and growing amounts of coal to them to power themselves cheaply.
          Any global businesses are driven away. They'll go to Asia or the USA.
          You can see this happening. Fact.

          Sources like institutes are running agendas.
          Propaganda.

          As far as global warming goes, it started out as and still is a hypothesis.
          Most of the predictions and models have failed - fact.
          USA has pulled out of the Paris agreement and Asia didn't even join anyway.

        • +1

          @trevor99:

          Oh I see, you're on an anti coal greenie mission.

          Nope.

          I simply stated facts.

          oh I see you're making up fact as you go.

  • +1

    Bloody hell just got an email from Tango, VicGiv has dropped the min solar FIT 11.3->9.9c/kw

    But yet again Tango delivers by keeping it at 11.3c/kw.

  • Have applied for the $50 no dramas. But is anyone else having issues with the comparison part?

    I've just got a spinning wheel and nothing loading.

  • +3

    Bit of a fail… downloaded data from my energy distributor, tried to upload it on the website:

    Error
    Not a supported consumption file.

    • same here, uploaded data from united energy is giving the error message. I've sent query to the chat team

    • same here, what a waste of time getting all the usage data

    • I got the same error from the file I got from United Energy. I removed the header row and re-uploaded the file but got the same error, although with more information:

      The following issue was found: Not a supported consumption file.

      What can I do?

      Check your file. Click here to find an example of the file expected from your provider.
      Contact your file provider. Ensure that the file you received is a "Victorian Energy Compare supported" file with 12 full months of consumption data within the last 3 years.
      Build an energy profile.
      Have you tried dragging the file you received directly to your desktop, and then uploading it to Victorian Energy Compare without opening it? If after doing that, your file still doesn't work, you can have it reviewed by sending it to [email protected]

      The link for the sample file doesn't work now.

      There is an >> archived << version of the page from March with a link to other energy provider sample file formats:

      Here's the >> page << with the sample format for United Energy:

      My file seems to match the sample format so either the Energy Compare site is rooted or there's some other problem with my file. I'm inclined to go with the rooted option at this stage.

      I've emailed [email protected] asking they review the file, as suggested. Hopefully they can help me out.

      • Hi Mikeybear,
        Any luck with the United Energy file? Got same issue here.
        Thanks

  • I wonder if this will cost the Victorian taxpayer as much as Victorian Labor's $15 million dollar homosexual/transsexual pride center?

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/premier-pledges-…

    At least a bill credit will be accessible to all people, and not just cater for a small subset of the population who are all the fashion to young people today.

    • It's not accessible to all people. Whilst anyone posting and reading on here (Ozbargain) should have the skills to navigate to the site many people in Victoria still do not have that knowledge.

      My mother for instance wouldn't have a clue how to access this offer. I've always advised her against entering any personal information on the internet as she can't tell the difference between a scam and a real genuine offer. Beyond Facebook on her tablet (which my sister provided) that's all she knows about the internet. Trying to teach her about the internet just leads to arguments.

      I have done this offer for her so she's getting her $50 but I know many more people who just don't have a clue.

      She could save much more than $800 per year but isn't interested in the switching process which annoys me no end. She'll stay with her current supplier. The bills come through the post and she pays them at the post office. That's just how it is…

      • Honestly if you don't know how to use a computer in today's society, then you have much more to worry about in terms of accessibility than a $50 bill credit.

        My 80 year old grandmother will be taking advantage of this, herself. It's accessible to everyone who pays an electricity bill and can use a computer.

    • I wonder if this will cost the Victorian taxpayer …

      perhaps not much more than other government awareness campaigns - only instead of consultants and bullshi!t artists in the advertising industry, us, tax payers get equal share. Hopefully, government was sufficiently diligent in mitigating against abuse.

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