Energy Australia Extreme Bill

uniqualz on 06/10/2022 - 11:11
Last edited 07/10/2022 - 11:39 by 1 other user

Hi All,

Just hoping for your salient and expert advice.

I was very happily with Reamped Energy for my home electricity supply here in Brisbane, until the very recent wholesale electricity sham that kicked off in this country began. At Reamped's alarming request, I joined another provider (Energy Australia). I just got my first full-quarter bill from them. It's $787. Reamped's one-quarter bill was only ever $420 max. So now it's almost double. Nothing has changed here since we were with Reamped. No wild, energy-guzzling appliances installed, no new swimming pool in the backyard.

The meter reads are, apparently, actual - so their live chat staff told me this morning, and I grabbed this EA deal for 12 months, as it locked in similar rates to Reamped's rates, albeit slightly higher, but surely not double. But just like when I was with AGL years ago, the sense of foreboding in being scammed is hanging thick in the air. There seems no benefit to looking (again) for yet another provider, as I'm convinced they are all doing the same thing now, with the wholesale price jackup in recent times.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a solution, short of going solar? I'd do that, but that's another minefield of dodgy operators.

Thanks, UniQualz

edit: Sorry, as per JV's comment, I gave no information. So:

I'm on a "No Frills (Home)" plan. The rates Energy Australia charge me, which are locked in for 12 months, incl GST are:

Peak usage per day 22c/kWh
Dedicated Circuit usage per day (whatever that is?), if applicable 15.4c/kWh
Daily Supply Charge $0.858

Reamped were charging me incl GST:

Anytime: $0.204/kWh
Ctrl Load 2: $0.1248/kWh
Daily Supply Charge: $0.8273

Similar rates, so I'm not sure why the bill is a lot more. Anyway, I'll try to find if there were actual meter reads between changeover. Thanks everyone. Sorry for the bother.

Home & Garden Electricity

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Comments

  • screensaver on 06/10/2022 - 11:18
    +5

    you need to look at the rates, daily fee and kw/hr charges. I also switched to EA and just got the bill, it was higher than expected. I checked the bill, and all the fees and charges did match the quote. i did get a special seniors deal 22 percent below reference.

    • ozbjunkie on 07/10/2022 - 07:25

      I know this varies by state, but at 22% in NSW you may have room to push a bit harder. I think I'm on 32% pay on time discount for usage.

      Or is your 22% also on supply charge?

      • TrustNoBody on 07/10/2022 - 22:28

        who is that with ?

        • screensaver on 11/10/2022 - 12:35

          the deal appears to no longer be on the seniors card website, i am locked in for 12 months, I havent seen anything else much below reference price.

          • TrustNoBody on 11/10/2022 - 13:18

            @screensaver: yes my deal that i was with EA has just ended and same as my mum so we are both looking for deals in nsw but there doesn’t seem to be any

    • HeWhoKnows on 07/10/2022 - 15:31

      Not enough information and I will add some more

      Is OP quoting inc or Ex GST for BOTH old and new rates?
      Is the time period (number of days) the same?
      Check/compare kWh consumed as well?
      Best to double check everything pls OP
      Nothing is ever the same!

      I see OP has controlled load 2 on the old plan
      This is usually Off Peak hot water which has a separate meter

      Hence Dedicated Circuit should be the same thing.
      The rates certainly compare favourably to support this.

      If the rates are apples for apples (either both Inc or both ex GST) then I provide the following observations:

      Peak or Any time rate is up by 7.8%
      Controlled load is up by 23.4%
      Daily supply fee is up by 3.7%

      Take a close look at ALL your readings - especially Controlled Load 2

      Compare number of billing days and report back
      Compare Kilo Watt Hours (kWh) used and report back
      Divide kWh by number of days to see if your daily usage is similar.

      Remember most people generally use much more electricity during the winter months because of "heating"
      This applies to Controlled Load 2 as well

  • derpdeder on 06/10/2022 - 11:22
    +7

    Does the Reamped bill have the closing meter read on it? Does it match the opening read from EA? I switched to Origin a few years ago and they charged me from an opening meter read that had already been charged by the old retailer. They had to go back and adjust it to the closing meter read of the old supplier.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:40

      Thanks for the helpful tip - I didn't consider that. I'll go and try to find it. Thanks.

  • jv on 06/10/2022 - 11:23
    +6

    Not enough info.

    • payless69 on 06/10/2022 - 13:49

      if greed sets in faster than coffee, then rtfm at least!

    • coffeeinmyveins on 06/10/2022 - 13:51
      +8

      Good lord you have over 90,000 comments and I can almost guarantee that all of them provide as much contribution to the community as this one.

      coffeeinmyveins on 06/10/2022 - 13:51 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:34

      Sorry. Yes, that would help. I'm on a "No Frills (Home)" plan. The rates Energy Australia charge me, which are locked in for 12 months, incl GST are:

      Peak usage per day 22c/kWh
      Dedicated Circuit usage per day (whatever that is?), if applicable 15.4c/kWh
      Daily Supply Charge $0.858

      Reamped were charging me incl GST:

      Anytime: $0.204/kWh
      Ctrl Load 2: $0.1248/kWh
      Daily Supply Charge: $0.8273

      Similar rates, so I'm not sure why the bill is a lot more. I'll try to find if there were actual meter reads between changeover. Thanks.

  • virhlpool on 06/10/2022 - 11:45

    Is anyone still with ReAmped? What are the rates like now. I too wish I hadn't moved away from ReAmped despite their push. My guess is that their rates would still be better than the rest even after the increase.

    • wordplay on 06/10/2022 - 12:25
      +2

      my monthly bill went from ~$100 to over $1000 for the last month i was with them. didn't change providers as was moving house in a months time, wish I did change.

      • virhlpool on 06/10/2022 - 12:42
        +1

        Wow.. didn't realise they will go 10x. Sad.

      • TilacVIP on 07/10/2022 - 08:47
        +2

        thats what i cal getting "reamed" without the P

      • BuyOrNot on 08/10/2022 - 15:56

        Damm, I was thinking of being lazy and thought the prices wont really increase that much and sticking with reamped but then got scared from the news so switched with lumo, looks like getting scared was a good decision.

    • CrowReally on 06/10/2022 - 12:40
      +5

      You're a very, very cooked unit. I can't even imagine how much electricity you use!

    • Caped Baldy on 06/10/2022 - 12:53

      Poor take. This is more conservative and capitalism if anything.

      Look at WA for their energy pricing…

      • parsimonious one on 06/10/2022 - 15:58
        +3

        I dont think he understands what communism is…

        He also blames opaque restaurant surcharges on “semi communism” whatever that is

        • DoctorCalculon on 08/10/2022 - 12:06

          In fact, they equate any price increase with communism. 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻😂

    • ThithLord on 06/10/2022 - 14:34
      -1

      lol the price increase that the LNP specifically hid before the election?

  • AndyC1 on 06/10/2022 - 11:58
    +3

    Open excel and create two worksheets, one for the same time last year and one for this year. Then compare them and see where the cost blowout is.

  • Drakesy on 06/10/2022 - 12:52
    +9

    God bless WA and our government run grid.
    My solar power is paying for itself right now.

    The liberal's idea of privatisation was never going to work. Everyone wants to make money when the goings good but as soon as you stress the system they run away and leave the grenade for the government to clean up in the end anyway. Good in theory, never works in practice.

    • Davo1111 on 06/10/2022 - 13:02
      +1

      God bless WA and our government run grid.

      agreed, however, this could be as simple as a meter misread. or the bills prior were estimates.

      We still have the same issues potentially.

    • Ade99 on 07/10/2022 - 09:09

      EQL have several projects which are running many years late and are hundreds of $M over budget. They have many years still to go and the poor punters get to pay for it…however the programme Director and associated cronies continue to receive very high daily rates to keep the money train going!

    • Geoff01 on 07/10/2022 - 09:31

      I agree, our power bill is $180 per quarter and 80 of that is charges.only 2 of us though. $470 is quite extreme I would of thought.

  • Davo1111 on 06/10/2022 - 13:01
    +1

    "ive tried nothing and i'm all out of ideas"

    Follow AndyC1's advice.

    Go and read the meter - see if that matches

    Read the old bills, see if that was an actual meter read.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 06/10/2022 - 13:49
    +1

    My sides.

    "Extreme". I was expecting $5k not $700

    albeit slightly higher, but surely not double.

    I mean, you're the only one that can confirm all of this.

    So many questions that only YOU can answer. On peak off peak? Higher daily charge?

    The first question is are you using more KWH than before? If you are, there's your answer. If not, it's probably some daily charge.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:47

      Yes. I get that, thank you. EA are saying our usage has doubled this quarter, so I guess I'll check the meters, then do an appliance audit to see what's changed. Thanks.

  • ForkSnorter on 06/10/2022 - 16:12
    +1

    $787 per quarter is insane. I recommend you cut down on your electricity usage. In my experience, Energy Australia is reliable, although a hassle to speak to on the phone. My Energy Australia bill is usually $130-$160 per quarter, and the last bill that just came in a few weeks ago was $169.

    • payless69 on 06/10/2022 - 18:33

      Some energy ministers in Europe have already publicly suggested to shower with a mate.
      Consider ourselves lucky to be far away! Then again our very own Julian A. is still sitting tight for letting the cat out of the bag.
      Some Tony needs to have a trump in his hand just in case?

    • Bad Wolf on 06/10/2022 - 20:16
      +3

      $787 isn’t insane.
      Op hasn’t provided any usage details etc other then the bill is more expensive then the previous cheapest energy retailer on the market.
      Which is to be expected.

      • Geoff01 on 07/10/2022 - 09:34

        It's a rediculously high bill how ever you look at it. Certainly 2 to 3 times higher than the norm.

        • kiitos on 07/10/2022 - 09:48

          Depends on what appliances are used, how many people, size of house, the fact that this would be a winter bill vs the last bill which was for autumn (although OP said it was apparently never higher than 4xx), etc

    • tulip99 on 07/10/2022 - 09:32

      It's not insane for Tasmania in winter :-( although OP is not in Tassie.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:50

      True - I'll hassle the kids for shorter showers. Thanks.

  • holdenmg on 06/10/2022 - 19:54

    Hi uniqualz

    Just do this:
    https://www.ewoq.com.au/complaints/complaints-we-can-help-wi…

  • djk on 07/10/2022 - 07:40

    Yeah here Energy Australia staff usually say the meter has been read but often buried in the fine print is that it’s an estimate. If the rates are the same as your previous provider and usage is the same my experience suggests they’ve made a mistake. Usually call centre staff are untrained and ignorant but the supervisors are better and can give you a credit for inconvenience. They used to be a fairweather provider, but every second communication from them is another mistake they’ve made so give us more money so we are changing providers. There is always the energy ombudsman. Would recommend you change providers as soon as practical maybe even ask ombudsman office for advice about misleading or confusing terms and conditions and see if you can leave earlier without penalty.

    Anyone knows a competent electricity provider in Sydney please let me know.

  • saltypete on 07/10/2022 - 08:03
    +3

    Consider it your contribution to the coalition's energy non policy over the last 10 years, the Angus Taylor Levy….

  • spezd on 07/10/2022 - 08:10
    +1

    I'm also Brissy and moved to nectr, cheapest I have found and l can submit manual meter reads via the app. Send me a pm if you'd like the $50 off referral code.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:52

      I was actually considering them.. I might see if they can do a bill comparison. Thanks mate.

  • backpaqer on 07/10/2022 - 08:50
    +1

    If you're on a flat rate of around 20c/kWh that is pretty insane for Brisbane. I'm in Melbourne with zero gas all electric including electric underfloor heating and a pool… And solar, not that it does much in winter here. I've seen average monthly bills around the $200 mark.

  • Geoff01 on 07/10/2022 - 09:36

    Check your final bill previous provider look at last meter read to first with new provider. Check meter now to see that it matches final read. It's quite simple. Check all fees and unit charge were as expected when swapping.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:53

      Thank you Geoff.. good suggestions - I'll see if I can collate the info.. scattered about a bit!

  • Marty156 on 07/10/2022 - 10:33
    +1

    Note:
    Actual bill reads are only mandatory once per year in Qld.
    I moved retailers and there was NO actual read done (have a digital but not smart meter).
    Luckily, I always check the actual readings vs estimated and noted that the old supplier's closing bill estimate was in my favour.
    New supplier just accepted the estimated final reading, then discovered they owed me when the annual (actual) reading was taken!
    Keep your own records.

    • uniqualz on 07/10/2022 - 11:55

      Great suggestions.. thanks mate!

  • Bad Wolf on 07/10/2022 - 12:18

    Is your hot water electric?
    Is the bill 90 days or more that could account for a increase if it’s significantly larger.
    New rates quoted above definitely inc gst not ex gst?

    Daily actual power usage similar to last winter?
    Revamped was only ever $420 but last year you were with click and agl so not winter

    If you check the meter reading and work out a manual daily usage using the difference in power and the end date on the bill you can check what your daily usage over a short period is. A week is a good time frame.

  • Herbse on 08/10/2022 - 11:34

    Am I crazy or has OP not given us his actual usage info from previous bill to compare to current bill?

    We have the rates but no way of knowing if you've actually used more energy?

    Maybe I missed it.

  • neosin on 08/10/2022 - 11:53

    Maybe someone in your household was naughty and mined crypto without you knowing 😂😂😂

  • trapper on 08/10/2022 - 12:30

    Charging the Tesla? ;)

  • GordonD on 08/10/2022 - 12:53

    There are not many people you have to pay money to whose billing is as transparent as electricity suppliers. You get a bill that's got the meter number and the beginning and ending meter readings on it, and you have the previous bill, and the meter in your home, to check that they are correct. And on the bill is the rates and the calculation that you can check.

    Accusing them of something "dodgy" makes about as much sense as complaining that the petrol company is cheating you because you had to put twice as many dollars worth of petrol in your car this week to fill it up.

    Your electricity company can't, not by any means, make your electricity meter read faster.

    So before anyone starts accusing them of dodgy practices they need to look at all the numbers to make sure they are right. Is the billing period about the same as previous? Are any of the readings estimates rather than actuals? Is the start meter reading the same number as the end meter reading on your last bill? Is the end meter reading just a little less than what the meter reading was when they got the bill? Are the rates right? Does the calculation come out right?

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