The Sunday Telegraph identifies QEnergy as cheapest electricity for families, extracts further discount
MANY families are crying out for relief from rising power prices and here it is — we’ve found the most affordable rates then made them even cheaper.
NSW
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THIS story could save your family $1000 a year. The Sunday Telegraph has found NSW’s cheapest power deal — and made it even cheaper.
The offer, available to all readers, has emerged from a nine-month project aimed at helping households to cope with what are among the highest energy costs in the world.
We set out to find the cheapest energy tariffs on the market and then push that retailer to go even lower.
Our first check showed little-known QEnergy was the most affordable. Meeting us in Brisbane last year, CEO Scott Henderson said he was willing to offer an extra discount but couldn’t be certain pre-discount rates wouldn’t rise in the short-term due to madness in the wholesale market.
While he worked on addressing this, we asked the Australian Energy Regulator to identify the cheapest power rates in each of NSW’s three distribution areas: Ausgrid (eastern Sydney, Central Coast and Hunter), Endeavour (western Sydney, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra), and Essential (the rest of the state).
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In March the AER verified QEnergy was the cheapest provider for four-person households in all three zones. Its analysis differed to ours by using less-popular “time of use” tariffs rather than single rates.
In April we asked QEnergy’s Mr Henderson if he had found a way to provide more comfort that prices wouldn’t rise in the short term. He said he was confident the wholesale market had stabilised, reducing the possibility of short-term increases.
The Sunday Telegraph has since repeated our price checks and replicated the AER’s results. For four of the six tariff-location combinations, QEnergy is still cheapest. In the two where it wasn’t — the less-popular ToU tariff in Endeavour and Essential’s areas — the additional discount under this new reader offer makes it the cheapest.
On the latest comparisons using the AER’s criteria, QEnergy’s prices are more than $1000 a year lower than AGL’s standing offer in the Essential area, $600 better in Ausgrid’s zone and $500 cheaper in Endeavour’s patch. A standing offer is the standard or default retail rate.
For single-rate tariffs, QEnergy is $800 a year lower than AGL’s standing offer in Essential’s zone, $700 better in the Endeavour patch and $600 cheaper in Ausgrid’s zone.
While Origin Energy doesn’t appear to have any published tariff that comes close to QEnergy’s best rate, EnergyAustralia seems to have recently introduced an offer that comes very close. QEnergy does not guarantee it will remain the cheapest.
The offer to Sunday Telegraph readers takes a further $75 off QEnergy’s charges through a staggered credit — a $25 saving on the first bill, another $25 at 12 months and the final $25 discount at 23 months. The offer is a two-year contract but, importantly, there is no exit fee so a customer is free to leave at any time.
The Sunday Telegraph does not earn a commission or fee from people taking up the QEnergy offer. You’ll find FAQs at the bottom of this page.
To register interest in taking up the offer go to https://switchtoqenergy.com.au/sundaytelegraph/ and enter the code STELEQE02. Have your latest bill handy because the registration page asks you to upload a copy of it.
‘We’d love to pay less’
IN the Taboas household, the arrival of the quarterly electricity bill triggers a physical reaction.
“We cringe,” Rosa Taboas said.
For the family of four, from Baulkham Hills in Sydney’s northwest, anything under $1000 for three months is a good result.
“But it’s still a lot of money. That the highest thing we pay on a quarterly basis — the electricity bill,” Mrs Taboas said.
She and husband John are far from alone. Mrs Taboas said family energy bills had come up for discussion on a Hills mums Facebook group on Friday night. The comments showed many four-person households in the area were contending with annual bills approaching $4000.
The couple have been with the same supplier since 2012 and they are ready for a sharper offer.
“We’d love to pay less,” Mrs Taboas said.
“If people are going to offer a better deal than what we are getting that is going to be great.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in Sydney, the cost of electricity has risen 129 per cent over the past decade — five times faster than the city’s general rate inflation — just 26 per cent. The ABS doesn’t track non-metropolitan prices.
FAQs
Who is QEnergy?
A small Australian, privately owned, Brisbane-based electricity retailer. Its call centre is in the Philippines.
How was QEnergy determined to be the cheapest?
Using the Australian Energy Regulator’s independent, comprehensive comparison site Energy Made Easy. The initial search was for a family of four without a pool, done in September last year for single rates. In March this year “time of use” rates were compared. Both single and ToU rates were checked this month.
Is there any guarantee QEnergy’s prices won’t go up?
No, but QEnergy is confident it won’t need to put up charges unless there are big jumps in wholesale markets. It would have to notify you in advance in writing and you would be free to leave without an exit fee.
QEnergy’s recent reviews on Product Review are bad. Why?
The complaints were mostly from Victorian customers after QEnergy significantly increased prices there in January following a spike in wholesale costs. Victoria is a much smaller market for QEnergy than NSW or Queensland, so it did not have as much buying power to absorb wholesale volatility. Prices for new customers in NSW and Queensland haven’t risen in that time. Complaint levels against QEnergy to NSW and Queensland’s energy ombudsmen have been low.
Does the AER endorse this offer?
No. It doesn’t endorse any power deal.
Does The Sunday Telegraph make money from this?
It doesn’t. Our publisher, News Corp Australia, does not earn a fee or commission. And you don’t need to be a subscriber to take up the offer.
How do I register my interest in taking up the offer?
Go to https://switchtoqenergy.com.au/sundaytelegraph/ and enter the code STELEQE02. Ideally you should have your latest bill with you when you do, because the registration page asks you to upload a copy of it.
If I register am I going to be transferred to QEnergy?
No. QEnergy will contact you within seven days to go through the details. You don’t have to go ahead if you don’t want to.
john.rolfe@news.com.au
Twitter: @costofliving