State Government signs higher power bill discount deal with Origin Energy for SA concession card holders

South Australian households will be able to save as much as $585 a year on their electricity bills under a deal for concession card holders negotiated by the State Government.

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South Australian households will be able to save as much as $585 a year on their electricity bills under a deal for concession card holders negotiated by the State Government.

The deal with Origin Energy improves and extends a program to which 50,000 South Australians have already signed up. Another 120,000 are eligible to join.

The SA Concessions Energy Discount Offer will now involve a 20 per cent discount, up from 18 per cent.

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said thousands of SA households struggled to pay high utility costs.

“That’s why we renegotiated a better deal from an 18 to 20 per cent discount to help people who need it,” she said.

“The new deal means high-energy usage households could save up to $585 off their annual energy bill and the offer also applies to both electricity usage and supply charge.

“I would encourage anyone receiving an energy concession to take a look at the energy discount the Liberal Government has negotiated with Origin to see if they can save more money on their energy bills.”

The offer — first made available in December 2017 — was due to expire on June 30.

Eligible households include people who hold certain concession cards or receive certain Centrelink payments.

Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin urged the 120,000 energy-concession recipients in SA who had not yet signed up to take advantage of the deal.

“This is an easy way for them to reduce their electricity bill with just one phone call,” he said.

“Further benefits of the offer include flexible payment options, no late payment penalties, credit card processing fees or exit fees.”

Consumers already on the offer will have the higher discount automatically applied.

Households signed up to the offer can also bundle in their gas account and receive an 11 per cent discount on gas usage and supply costs.

The $585 saving is based on a household moving from a standing offer and using 5800kWh a year. A household using 4260kWh a year would save $471.

The Essential Services Commission of SA estimates an average household uses 5000kWh a year.

Uniting Communities advocacy manager Mark Henley welcomed the deal.

“It will put downward pressure on prices generally,” he said. “We’d encourage people to have a look at it or to go to their existing retailer and ask them what they can offer in comparison.

There are other good market offers, but there are offers that are really bad.”

The State Government has other services to assist households with energy.

A tool kit to audit energy use is available from 143 libraries. In 2017-18, the kits were borrowed 900 times.

A free Energy Advisory Service provides information by phone or email on energy use, billing, metering and appliance running costs.

It receives about 1000 calls a year. An online resource at sa.gov.au/energy was viewed by 360,000 users in 2017-18.

Another program works with 102 community organisations to help households control their energy use.