Electricity Providers in Sydney, Prices and Quality of Service

DigSpider on 12/12/2020 - 14:28
Last edited 14/12/2020 - 14:44 by 1 other user

Hi all.

I've been doing some research on energy prices and found out that I'm overpaying by being with AGL for so long.
I gave them a call and got put into a new slightly cheaper plan, but still, according to www.energymadeeasy.gov.au, I could be saving a lot more if I moved to other providers such as Mojo Power, Kogan Energy, Energy Locals, Tango Energy and others.

My question here really is: What if I move to these providers instead of AGL? Does that mean that my electricity supply will change and may become unstable or is this simply a pricing war and the actual electricity being provided comes from the same place and will be just as stable as it's ever been?

My main concern is going with one of these cheap providers (and I can save a LOT, based on the info on the website) and then end up with unstable electricity or random disconnects/drops because they've gone so aggressive on pricing that they dropped the quality altogether.

Examples of pricing differences based on my last bill:

Mojo Power
Plan: All Day Breakfast
Saving
$65.91
Estimated cost
$223.51

Kogan Energy
Plan: Kogan Energy Market Offer
Saving
$63.41
Estimated cost
$226.01

Energy Locals
Plan: Local Member - Anytime
Saving
$56.07
Estimated cost
$233.35

Thanks all

• 

  Hithere on 12/12/2020 - 14:58

  the actual electricity being provided comes from the same place and will be just as stable as it's ever been?

  This.

  All you are doing is changing retailers

  The power generator owners who supply the wholesale electricity remain the same.

• 

  screensaver on 12/12/2020 - 14:59

  Did you not see the sign up offer for energy australia of $110 cash back plus $75 credit from energy australia at cash rewards? Look for things like that

  • 

    DigSpider on 12/12/2020 - 15:01

    I never considered switching because I was concerned about the stability of my electricity (I'd rather pay a bit more for high quality service), but now that I know that there's NO difference, then I'll start looking for these opportunities.
    Thanks

    • 

      screensaver on 12/12/2020 - 15:03

      its now 70 plus 25

      • 

        DigSpider on 12/12/2020 - 15:15

        Funny, though, as based on www.energymadeeasy.gov.au, the prices for EA are more expensive than even AGL…
        Since my bills are quite on the high side, even with the $100 bonus for moving to EA, it'd still not be worth it.

• 

  non-core promise on 12/12/2020 - 15:15

  +3

  Only differences are the login/account interface for bills and customer service if you ever need to contact them. All the electricity is the same.

  All the providers you've mentioned are electricity retailers. They are just the ones buying electricity from the distributors and selling it to you for profit, not the ones delivering it to you.

  The Greater Sydney region is predominantly served by 3 electricity distributors: Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy. Ausgrid serves the eastern part of Sydney and the Central Coast (Gosford/Newcastle area), Endeavour Energy serves most of Western Sydney and the Illawarra (Wollongong area), Essential Energy serves everywhere else. This is obviously fixed for the area you live in. You cannot change this. If there is ever an outage, you will be directed to their sites and social media platforms for information. You might see their number provided to you on the bills from your retailer.

  So you have nothing to worry about in terms of reliability and such. What I will say (as a serial switcher myself) is that you should carefully do the maths yourself and triple check the numbers for the appropriate season (i.e. more electricity for air con in summer if you have one, heater for winter, less for spring/autumn, etc). Most retailers will call you if you try to switch and try to entice you to stay by bribing you with one off payments, or putting you on their newest market offers if you're on an expensive standing offer paying the lazy tax, etc.

  From my experience, the person on the line will try to oversimplify things by saying what percentage discount off the reference price their plan is. In reality, the prices for usage and supply charges will depend on your usage patterns. If you use electricity less, then supply charges will have a greater influence on your total energy bill and usage charges less. Vice versa for more electricity. Make sure to always have the numbers handy so if they do come up with a phone call offering a bribe to stay, you can immediately see how it compares with the plan you are switching to. Don't be afraid to call their bluff and decline their offer, but always avoid being rude to the person on the line, since they're probably just an underpaid puppet for the higher ups.

  Another thing: Cashrewards offers cashback on some retailers. Only noteworthy condition is that you cannot be an existing customer (previous customer is fine) and you must remain with them for 75 days (also fine, because most meters are read every 3 months). $70 for energy, $42 for gas is the regular rate. They are temporarily increased every now and then. EnergyAustralia in particular frequently raises their cashback rates to $110 and $90 respectively.

  So if there are a number of retailers with only a few tens of dollars between them on Energy Made Easy, check if some of them are part of Cashrewards' cashback program. If they are, then the extra cashback may sway you towards one retailer over another. Don't be afraid to use this frequently. I've joined EnergyAustralia 3 times now on their promotional cashback rates in addition to their own cashbacks of $25, $50 or $75 on your first bill. It does make a difference, but not everyone is willing to go through the hassle of switching every 1-2 quarters.

  • 

    DigSpider on 12/12/2020 - 15:20

    Thank you SO MUCH for the extremely detailed response! It is really very much appreciated.
    Wish I knew this sooner, but now I will be much more vigilant and will be changing providers as my electricity bills are always on the high consumption side and last month I got slapped a $270 bill (for a single month) with the previous month, paying $ 140 (again, for the single month, electricity only)…

    • 

      non-core promise on 12/12/2020 - 15:35

      +1

      Forgot to mention: Price-wise, most plans can be separated into market offers (competitive prices for 1-2 years, then you are usually put on a standing/default offer) and standing/default offers (expensive plans for the lazy paying the lazy tax and subsidising market offers).

      Making sure you are always on a market offer gives the best "time/effort to savings" ratio, since it means you only have to shop around every 1-2 years or so. Being super pedantic about the stuff I mentioned earlier and switching every 3-6 months is not for everyone, especially when it comes to dealing with the annoying customer retention phone calls.

• 

  screensaver on 12/12/2020 - 15:33

  You can try simplyenergy through NRMA Blue or if not a member, throgh cashrewards gives complimentary Blue membership while waiting for a good offer

• 

  screensaver on 12/12/2020 - 15:34

  -1

  there are also referral bonuses through the wiki, but nectr made us take ours down

• 

  Daabido on 12/12/2020 - 16:11

  I prefer to buy premium electricity for my appliances. They run stronger, are clean on the inside, and are more efficient.

  • 

    DigSpider on 12/12/2020 - 16:24

    -2

    I was talking about having different electricity providers (and not simply resellers), but thanks to the topic's responses, I now know that there's only ever 1 energy provider per area, so there's nothing to worry about stability or quality of service.
    I thought that was pretty clear.

    • 

      Daabido on 12/12/2020 - 17:53

      It was a joke, along the lines of premium petrol "benefits". I thought that was pretty clear. It certainly wasn't meant as a dig at you.

• 

  freefall101 on 12/12/2020 - 18:23

  Just be careful to look at what you use year round and not just one month (unless it stays flat the whole year). AGL charge a tonne for peak power in Sydney, but have lower off peak rates and a lower daily charge (although it's about $3 a month cheaper, so not much). If you run the aircon flat out during peak (2-8pm) then you're definitely going to get expensive power bills, it's 2-3x the price. Mojo/Kogan have a flat rate all day that makes it much lower during the day but higher overnight when you might be running your hot water system.

  AGL's rates are all about encouraging people to use less during peak, because every power company is paying more at that time for their wholesale power. It's not bad if you have solar to give you power during the day and use the grid for power at night (although the globird flexible rate is probably better for that. YMMV).

  Disclaimer: I'm a contractor at AGL and have some sort of discount rate so I use them. Also in Melbourne which has flat rates from most providers. But when my contract is up in Jan I'm switching to Ovo for power because it's cheaper in every way. However I'm staying with AGL for gas because I have a horrendous heating system that uses Gorgon Project levels of gas, so AGL charging more for connection but less for usage is much better for me.

  • 

    DigSpider on 13/12/2020 - 10:52

    I'm a renter and the house I'm living in doesn't have a smart meter, so I reckon the peak power charges are not valid in my case.

    I wonder if it's worth contacting the companies to get a smart meter installed, since based on Mojo's "every day" prices, I'd be saving a TON of money if I were to convert to a smart meter…

    Any experiences with the switch?

    Thanks

    • 

      avoidfullprice on 13/12/2020 - 13:47

      I would be wary to use the average daily consumption and infer your TOU bill.

      Ask your current retailer if you are eligible for a free smart meter upgrade. Note that you may not be eligible for flat rate energy plans from some retailers (e.g. click energy)

      Also if you do switch, be prepared that they will switch you at your next read date So, time it right - apply a few weeks before your next bill date, or you risk waiting for three more months before the change.

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  soan papdi on 12/12/2020 - 19:31

  Have a calendar reminder every six months to check for cheaper rates. Customer loyalty to power and gas retailers is of no use these days.