How to score yourself cheaper electricity bills
RISING electricity costs continue to hit households hard, but there are ways to bring your costs down. Follow these easy steps to make sure you’re not getting ripped off.
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DITCHING and switching energy providers is the only way to guarantee yourself serious savings.
Rising electricity costs continue to hit households hard particularly for those in the states where wearing your woollies to bed is an absolute must-do.
But sadly being loyal to your energy provider will do you absolute no favours.
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It’s time for you to ditch and switch to ensure you can save.
Here’s how you can bring down your electricity costs on the spot.
1. WHIP OUT YOUR LATEST BILL
The only way you can work out if you’re going to save by going elsewhere is to find your latest energy bill.
This is the vital piece of information you’ll need to arm yourself with so you can hunt around for a better deal.
Without this you are flying blind.
2. EXAMINE YOUR CHARGES
There’s two key things you need to put the microscope over on your bills — the supply and usage charges.
This will help you easily compare apples with apples.
And it will help other retailers compare their offers too to work out if you can save.
3. DISCOUNTING
This is how retailers will instantly confuse you.
They will tell you their rates and then make out they’re doing you a massive favour by giving you whopping discounts.
Make sure you ask if any discounts apply to both supply and usage charges — ideally they do.
Sometimes retailers are sneaky and will only offer you a discount on one or the other.
4. COMPARE
Do a comparison online, there’s plenty of websites that will help you compare deals available — this includes Canstar Blue, Mozo and iSelect.
But keep in mind these retailers don’t always have all the available offers.
Some states have government websites that compare all deals including Victoria’s site compare.energy.vic.gov.au.
And for households punching in their details they’ll get $50 cashback just for doing so until December 31.
Using these sites is a great way to find out what offers are available and then you can take it from there.
I’ve used these sites to compare and then I’ve gone directly to the retailer to see what they can offer me.
Sometimes you don’t even need to pick up the phone — the new retailer may just ask for a copy of your latest bill which you can shoot through online and then they’ll crunch the numbers for you.
5. SWITCHING
This is the fun part.
Once you’ve nabbed a better offer it’s time to ditch your old mob.
Don’t bother telling them, your new retailer will do all the dirty work for you.
Simple as that.
It may take a few weeks for everything to transition across to your new retailer but once it’s done it’s smooth sailing from here.
6. THEY’LL WANT YOU BACK
But wait for it.
Once your old retailer gets wind of the news you’ve packed your bags and are leaving, they’ll come running.
Just sit back and watch.
They’ll pull out every offer under the sun to try and win you back, but chances are the deals won’t match what you’ve found elsewhere.
Sometimes the grass is greener.
It can be infuriating that they only offer you these deals now that you’ve decided to take action.
7. WATCH YOUR BILLS
Pay attention to the next few bills from your new retailer to make sure you are getting what you were offered.
These sneaky providers may get you at a weak moment and mischarge so, so pay attention.
And if you’re not a happy camper then you can always switch again.
Most energy plans are no lock-in contracts which gives you the freedom to ditch and switch at any times.
And most importantly, don’t set and forget.
It pays to review these expenses at least once a year.
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Originally published as How to score yourself cheaper electricity bills
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