The power company $1063 cheaper than everybody else

South Australians could save up to $1063 on their electricity bill every year according to new research — and there’s a pretty simple way to do it.

• Who wants to increase your electricity bills?
• Disconnect between customers and electricity companies

A small new player in the SA electricity market has emerged as the cheapest household electricity provider and you could save $1063 every year by switching.

The Melbourne-based Powerclub has come out on top of the annual St Vincent de Paul Society price comparison, offering South Australian customers using 6000kWh an annual bill of $2269.

The price comparison of 18 retail companies vying for your custom puts Powerclub $118 ahead of the nearest established player Momentum Energy and $1063 ahead of the most expensive Amber Electric, $3332, when discounts and pay-on-time discounts are taken into account.

St Vincent de Paul Society manager of policy and research Gavin Dufty said the savings were a highlight of the 2019 South Australian Energy Prices analysis to be released today.

“In SA there are still significant savings to be made if you haven’t switched or freshened up your energy account recently,’’ he said.

“Households with gas also need to know their costs have gone up more than electricity but there are more savings to be made if you shop around.

“The market is changing in SA because no longer are prices dominated by pay on time discounts, companies are offering cheaper fixed rates or guaranteed discounts.’’

Electricity is a major burden for householders. AAP Image/Julian Smith.

Powerclub claims to give householders access to wholesale electricity prices, but for a fee, and a buffer from extreme wholesale prices which can hit the market when there is a generation shortfall. It has also been given favourable reviews by consumer advocacy groups.

Solar customers have different bill calculations, with the best average bill for a standard PV system offered by Powerdirect $1086.

Averaging all electricity bills, the annual household price was found to be $2545, or $95 less than 2018. And competition is hotting up in the market with this year’s spread of prices at $1063 comparing to last year’s difference of $840 between most expensive and cheapest.

Vinnies has been tracking SA electricity and gas prices annually since 2012, in a proactive attempt to ease the crippling pressure put on low-income families by utility bills.

It is the organisation’s first report since the Federal Government introduced in July a bill-busting Default Market Offer.

The offer is designed as a better safety net for those who do not want to be part of the complicated free-market system, to replace the previous safety net ‘standing offer’ provided by AGL.

To date Vinnies has found it has delivered an up to 4 per cent or $140 bill reduction.

Ironically, DMO customers can save up to $480 if they can work out how to use the market system.

For gas, Vinnies found the average bill was $1095, or $40 more than last year. The cheapest market offer was from Lumo Energy, costing $996 per annum for the average customer.

The difference between the best and the worst gas market offer is $285 per annum, compared to $130 last year.