Millions of Australian households may save a whole bunch of {dollars} on their energy payments below new adjustments that may make it simpler to find and swap to cheaper vitality offers.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen mentioned $1.8m included in final week’s funds will fund a brand new system to permit clients to enter their particulars and discover a higher provide on a supplier’s web site with ‘one-click’
The authorities will work with vitality regulators and state governments to barter regulatory adjustments wanted to develop the plan, which goals to curb the “loyalty tax” households are slugged with after they follow the identical vitality retailer.
“We know households are doing it tough and we don’t want them to be paying one cent more than necessary for their electricity bills,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen mentioned.
“It’s a small but important initiative in the budget because it’s going to have a positive impact on bringing down the cost of living for households over the long term.”
5-minute Guide
Data launched final yr by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) discovered about two million households had been paying extra for electrical energy than they wanted to.
The shopper watchdog mentioned a few quarter of shoppers had been being hit with larger energy payments as a result of they hadn’t pursued lower-cost plans with their supplier or sought out new buyer offers.
Households may save as much as $400 a yr by altering retailers, in accordance with the ACCC.
The authorities mentioned it will additionally make investments extra funding to improve the Energy Made Easy web site, to permit customers to match gives throughout a number of suppliers.
Households will learn how a lot they could possibly be charged for electrical energy over the subsequent monetary yr on Thursday, when regulators had down their ultimate resolution on default provide costs.
According to a draft report launched in March, costs for NSW residents may drop by 3 per cent from final yr, or as much as 6.4 per cent for some Victorian households.
The new costs will come into impact from July.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
