Queensland and NSW Electricity Price Comparison Spreadsheet

adam on 04/08/2017 - 09:27
Last edited 31/08/2017 - 16:08 by 1 other user

In comparing electricity prices I created a spreadsheet and, well, I got a bit carried away and extended it to accomodate all plans types in the Queensland Energex region. The spreadsheet is available here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AzwNrB-WxIYhCXjTUww3…

You can download a copy to use yourself and work out the cheapest provider.

I know there are services that claim to do this, but all of them seem to have an element of bias, exclude some plans, require you to provide contact details, or for various reasons are, IMHO, unsatisfactory.

If anyone would like to extend this to further states by copying the model into other tabs, I would welcome it, let me know and I'll provide you access to do that.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • boo hoo on 04/08/2017 - 09:34

    Well done adam,
    needless to say it is a (profanity) nightmare trying to compare.
    so called comparison sites only want your details so they have to phone
    you, I assume to push the best margin for themselves.
    adam you must have the patience of a saint.

    thanks
    bh

  • Nugs on 04/08/2017 - 09:38

    +1

  • geek001 on 04/08/2017 - 09:48

    Good work, but there is a mistake in your Daily Supply Charge calculation, it fails to take into account the discount!

    Also, Mojo energy charges $420 a year membership, so not sure how you are going to factor that in. I guess it is worth is for people who use A LOT of power?

    • adam on 04/08/2017 - 10:20
      +1

      Most providers don't apply their % discount to the daily supply charge but only to the energy usage charge. I've incorporated this by including % discount for usage and % discount for daily supply charge; I've read the providers fact sheets to work out who gives discount for what.

      Also for Mojo (and others that might be similar) there is a final calculation before the total that is a additional $ charge/discount and/or an additional % charge discount. The % charge/discount is typically used for credit card surcharge fees. In the case of Mojo I've calculated their yearly membership charge as a daily additional $ fee on the bill. Mojo yearly plans still can range from $280 to $420 and I've used the cheapest value and indicated this is a comment in the appropriate field.

      It is a nightmare to get a spreadsheet to accomodate all of these sorts of variations but I feel I've managed to do it for Qld at least.

      • geek001 on 04/08/2017 - 10:50

        Ok, Sorry, for this to make more sense, I downloaded your spreadsheet from Google Drive to input in my own figures. I am merely pointing out the mistake in the cell calculation for the daily supply charge if I actually put in a discount percentage. I retract the Mojo Energy comment, I didn't see that you have accounted for the membership fee under additional charges.

        It is a nightmare, as I have been offered either 14% off total bill or 18% off usage charges from Origin, so I am just using your spreadsheet as a comparison. :)

        The only one cheaper than that for me is Simply Energy, but it would require me to have a RACQ membership.

        • adam on 04/08/2017 - 10:56
          +2

          Oh I see the error in the daily supply charge calculation now. I'd put the % there but didn't include it in formula, appreciate you picking this up. It's now fixed.

          And you should download a copy of it for you own use as I said on the Info tab. I'm not sure how to put a spreadsheet up there and allow people to change usages put not the other formulas, etc… if anyone knows if thats possible please point me in the right direction.

          The info tab has a "last edited" value so if it gets changed that will be updated.

  • punkindrublic on 04/08/2017 - 11:32
    +1

    What does your spreadsheet do that the Energy Made Easy and Victorian Energy Compare websites don't? I'm not critical of your efforts incidentally, just thought I'd check if you got more into the detail than the official energy comparison tools

    • adam on 04/08/2017 - 11:36
      +4

      I guess all is does is shows the calculations. I know that whenever I've used those services myself they have not given me the lowest cost provider for my scenario & I've never understood what they're missing out on… I don't really know what they're calculating. My spreadsheet is not as easy to use as those websites & it is meant for people who can fiddle with a spreadsheet and want to know the detail behind the calculations.

      • punkindrublic on 04/08/2017 - 11:51

        Sweet, that's something a lot of us would find helpful actually. I'm NSW-based so your Qld prices can't help, but the template could be useful for someone else trying to put this info together in a logical way so thanks!

  • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2017 - 12:04

    It seems like they all come within a $50 of each other, no matter how they slice and dice their plans/discounts.

    There's easier ways to save/make $200/year than hunting down the cheapest electricity plan.

    • adam on 04/08/2017 - 12:15

      Actually if you open up the hidden columns which shows alternate plans from each provider (by default it only shows their flagship plan) you'll see that some of the provider's plans are terrible and can cost you quite a lot more.

      Given that they're all selling me the same product, even if I'm just able to save $10/month I'll switch cos that'll at least pay for my Netflix subscription.

      • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2017 - 12:32

        My point is, as long as you pick a plan with a discount (not the deemed rate), the provider you pick doesn't make much difference.

        The $10/month saving isn't real. The numbers on the spreadsheet are based on an estimated usage. It's easy to have a month where your usage pattern does not meet your estimated usage (eg vacation, extremely hot/cold weather, guests) and then you didn't get the best possible rate.

        To do this exercise properly, you'd need to look at your past usage for more than 90days and try to forecast what your future usage might be AND what future electricity prices might be (yes - electricity prices can go up without warning) … it all ends up being too hard for a saving that you probably can't capture anyway.

        • flywire on 05/05/2018 - 08:41

          Summer and winter can be very different (eg heating, cooling, solar) so 90 days is irrelevant - at least use 365.

  • 87percent on 04/08/2017 - 12:09

    All i know is that since i've switched to Powershop (i'm in Melbourne), my electricity charges have dropped dramatically

  • Cheapcuda on 04/08/2017 - 14:01

    +1

  • Aniseed Steed on 04/08/2017 - 14:29

    Thanks for taking the time to create this spreadsheet, adam. I appreciate your hard work, and also your generosity in sharing it. I'm in Brisbane and currently with Click Energy. After putting in my data, I've just realised I'll save more being on their "Shine Extra" rather than the "Shine Reward" plan, so thanks for that!

  • dins on 05/08/2017 - 02:16

    Cheers OP brilliant work.

  • The Wololo Wombat on 09/08/2017 - 21:22

    Thanks so much.

    • The Wololo Wombat on 09/08/2017 - 21:27

      I'm totally new to needing an energy supplier, I've just moved out of home. I live in the postcode 4123. A house hold of two… with solar panels. How would I use your spreadsheet?

      • SirNed on 10/08/2017 - 09:52

        We are a household of two and use around 280 Kwh a month so work yours on around the 300 mark to give you a rough idea. That will be up top left in yellow columns. The Solar panels is a bit harder as you would need to know what they are putting out but you can take a rough guess for that. Then down the bottom you put in what the provider is giving back to the solar feedin (most have been prefilled. Then scroll across the bottom for best deal for you. Guessing you would be in solar feedin group 2 as the 44c fit is only for people that had it installed and in their name I understand

        • The Wololo Wombat on 10/08/2017 - 10:29

          Thanks so much! Simply energy seems to be the winner then? After I get my first bill, I will double check, using the spreadsheet to make sure that's best.

          I have gas supplied to the house, online I was only able to select electricity. Hopefully it will still work out with gas.

        • SirNed on 10/08/2017 - 12:32

          Yeah it will do. Sadly the gas only has 2 providers up this way so a bit tight on discounts. Last I checked AGL was slightly better than Origin so you will need to sign up with one of them to get your gas.

  • SirNed on 10/08/2017 - 09:49

    I just checked the Big switch as the deal seemed to be good with 27% off the usage and the Daily charge. However with the exobitant rates they are charging Simply Energy still wins out. So great discount let down by horrendous daily and usage charges.

    So Unless someone can come up with a better deal that what Simply Energy is offering. General usage is 280KWh per month

    • adam on 10/08/2017 - 20:23

      I've found out that Simply Energy haven't yet increased their prices this financial year… their prices will be going up on 23 Aug possibly making them not the cheapest.

      • SirNed on 10/08/2017 - 21:14

        Oh well will see what happens and if they do its changing providers once again. Thanks for the heads up.

  • Spicket on 14/08/2017 - 19:41

    This is absolutely fantastic. Switched tonight after getting a horrible bill. Cheers

  • monkp on 14/08/2017 - 20:33

    great effort, thank you ;) +1

  • MaximumEffort777 on 14/08/2017 - 21:06

    Brilliant, thanks. With Dodo's price changes effective from a few days ago Alinta appears to be the cheapest now, saving us $312 over the year.

    Time to move on!

    • MaximumEffort777 on 15/08/2017 - 09:09

      Made the switch to Alinta this morning after phoning Dodo and they said the best they could do was $100 off my next bill which was basically nothing as I'll almost save that much in my first quarter with Alinta.

  • adam on 17/08/2017 - 09:54

    A couple of people have requested access to edit and I've provided it… happy to do this for anyone that wants to help keep it up to date.

  • kerr42 on 24/08/2017 - 13:32

    Thanks, Adam. I've been searching around for something like this for a while now and was about to start my own! Simply was going to be the best deal, but they've since increased their prices. Now Alinta is coming out on top, so I'm switching to them. Fingers crossed they are decent.

    • adam on 24/08/2017 - 14:05

      Simply have now published there updated prices (started as of yesterday), so I've updated them in the spreadsheet.

  • dynamike on 29/08/2017 - 08:30

    Good work - note the Dodo solar feed in tariff in your spreadsheet is currently $.85 but should be $.085.

    Also, for those with Solar, the spreadsheet doesn't calculate your own usage of your solar prior to exporting to the grid. That is, if your daily total usage is 12kwh you may use 4kwh from your own solar and the remaining 8kwh from the grid. So your annual usage isn't 4380 but rather 2920. The spreadsheet currently does not consider this breakdown and simply calculates your total usage (i.e. 12kwh) from the grid minus total your total annual solar generation (i.e. 5kwh). Below the formulas to include this breakdown:

    Variables you need to know:
    Daily usage
    Annual Solar Generation
    Proportion usage from Grid (e.g. 2/3)
    Proportion usage from Solar (e.g. 1/3)

    Annual consumption from grid (kWh) = Proportion usage from Grid * Daily Consumption (kWh) * 365 days
    Annual remaining solar output (kWh) = Annual Solar Generation (kWh) - Proportion of usage from Solar * Daily Consumption (kWh) * 365 days

    • adam on 29/08/2017 - 18:46
      +1

      Thanks for picking up on Dodo price - I've fixed that.

  • dingdong3000 on 29/08/2017 - 08:35

    Cheers op! Would love this done for nsw if anyone's up for it

    • adam on 29/08/2017 - 18:52
      +1

      I'll make a start… it shouldn't take too long to do, but I might miss some providers.

  • adam on 31/08/2017 - 16:05
    +3

    NSW Ausgrid region has been completed in its own tab. Can a mod update the name of the thread to be "Qld and NSW Electricity Price Comparison Spreadsheet", I think that'd be better than starting a new thread.

    • zrmx on 05/09/2017 - 14:32

      You're a legend mate!

      Thanks heaps for the effort =D (The rates are quite up to date, I've also been checking over the market in the past two months to switch a friend's elec/gas over to a new company).

      Just regarding AGL, as posted in https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/325592 , people may get slightly higher discount rates.

      Cheers!

      • adam on 05/09/2017 - 16:07

        Thanks. I added a note to refer to that thread in AGLs name on both tabs. If anyone has entered into this contract and have the Price Fact Sheet for it please provide a copy of it and I'll put that in as a plan for them.

  • robl2 on 02/09/2017 - 11:39

    Wish I'd found this a few days ago - would have saved me a lot of time comparing my new Origin offer!

    One minor error - with Alinta and Origin, probably others, there's a separate daily supply charge for the T33 (CL2) supply; only small at 3.025c/day but probably worth including at your next revision.

    • MaximumEffort777 on 02/09/2017 - 14:04

      I may be wrong but it looks like those separate charges are already included (for Alinta anyway) i.e 108.900 + 3.025 = 111.925.

  • dynamike on 04/10/2017 - 19:13

    Heads up for Alinta in Queensland - they also have a Solar meter charge of $0.07073 cents (including GST) per day bringing the total daily charge for Solar customers to $1.15973 - https://www.alintaenergy.com.au/qld/electricity/welcome-quee…

  • jtrappett on 24/11/2017 - 17:29
    +1

    Click Energy also have the Big Switch Up Solar plan… from recent One Big Switch campaign.
    https://www.clickenergy.com.au/energy-price-fact-sheets/ener…

    • adam on 08/12/2017 - 13:32

      Thanks, I've added that. Overall discount not good (12%) but high solar feed in of $0.16.

      • jm48 on 13/12/2017 - 13:39

        I cannot seem to unhide the extra Ausgrid Click plans.
        There is no unhide option when I right click on that column tab or in the view menu.

        • adam on 13/12/2017 - 15:42
          +1

          Just try reloading. When you click the double headed arrow at the top of the row in Google Sheets it will unhide it.

        • jm48 on 13/12/2017 - 17:03

          @adam: Thanks I got it working now.

    • Aniseed Steed on 11/12/2017 - 10:28

      I've been with Click Energy for sometime and recently switched to "Shine Extra" in August this year. I called Click today to try to switch to the "Big Switch Up Solar" plan but was told I can't switch to another plan until after 12 months from August.

      • jtrappett on 11/12/2017 - 10:32

        Just tell them you're going to switch to another provider and see what response you get. I did switch to Alinta… figures from the spreadsheet showed it was a little better for my situation.

        • Aniseed Steed on 11/12/2017 - 10:35

          I threatened to leave, but they still refused to budge, even after she consulted her supervisor.

  • jm48 on 13/12/2017 - 17:20
    +1

    I think this spreadsheet is fantastic.
    I find it much more useful than those comparison websites.

    Just one minor query.
    For the Click Energy discounts in particular, the

    Discount is off your usage and supply charges, after concessions and solar export applied when you pay your bill on time.

    https://www.clickenergy.com.au/energy-price-fact-sheets/ausg…

    This effectively discounts your solar credit and concession by 20% in this example

    But the spreadsheet subtracts the solar credit after the discount is applied.
    I think the solar credit should be subtracted first.
    And this will increase the total bill.

    • adam on 13/12/2017 - 22:18
      +1

      Good pickup. I gotta work out how to factor this into the calculations without over complicating things now :/

      • jm48 on 13/12/2017 - 23:33
        +1

        If you want to alter the total formula for Click Energy solar plans only,
        it would be fairly easy, I guess.

        I think Red energy is the other supplier that does the post application of the discount.

        The 10% discount will be applied to the total billed amount when the bill is paid by the due date.

        Seems very sneaky to me.

      • jm48 on 14/12/2017 - 12:00

        Another simple way to factor in the calculation would be just discount the Solar Feed in tariff.
        For example the "Big Switch Up Solar" FIT of 19¢ would be entered as 15.2¢ (ie. 20% less)

        • adam on 16/12/2017 - 10:44
          +2

          Perfect… thats the easy way to implement it, which I've done. I've made these changes for both Click and Red.

        • Aniseed Steed on 16/12/2017 - 14:24

          @adam: Thanks, Adam! You've done a bloody brilliant job!

  • Looking4Bargians on 14/12/2017 - 10:56

    I wish if we could find similar for VIC

  • adam on 07/04/2018 - 20:49

    I've just finished updating Click Energy's pricing for both NSW and Qld. They updated all their plans in March. If you are with Click and are on their old plans you're probably going to want to change over to one of the new plans - 'Agate' looks like the flagship sort of plan or 'Solar' if you're a big solar user. The usage charges on all their old plans has gone up quite a bit and isn't competitive compared to their new plans.

    Someone has pointed me to their 'Mercury' plan which provides the newer, cheaper rates and a 30% discount. It isn't advertised on their website but has been offered to someone that was switching from them. I've linked to the Energy Price fact sheet in the appropriate plan column (it's a hidden column with all the additional Click Energy plans). I don't know who is eligible for this plan but if you're interested it might be in your benefit to ask them if you can get it.

  • Spicket on 08/04/2018 - 14:50

    Thanks Adam

  • cheapoguy on 13/04/2018 - 17:24

    Hi Adam. Just got off the phone with Dodo Power and Gas. Looks like they got some new rates for 2018.

    • adam on 13/04/2018 - 20:02

      Thanks for the info, I'll update when I get a chance.

  • flywire on 05/05/2018 - 08:51

    At first glance the feedin group is a bit confusing. How about just adding kWh to the usage input labels?

  • brendanm on 22/08/2018 - 15:33

    Hi Adam, awesome work on this spreadsheet! Just a heads up that the energy Australia secure saver discount is now 30%

  • wodtha on 11/07/2019 - 19:15

    Jesus @adam. That's a lot of work. You're most of the way towards creating a service. Like the Electricity version of that independent VPN comparison site: thatoneprivacysite.net/

    For anyone - Who's a safe bet to go with for Brisbane City? The spreadsheet is way too detailed for me. Doesn't have to be the absolute cheapest. Who generally provides good value?

    • brendanm on 11/07/2019 - 21:53

      It depends if you have solar or not. The spreadsheet is very easy, simply put in the details from your last bill and it will compare the plans (they may not be 100% up to date).

  • The Wololo Wombat on 12/08/2019 - 12:52
    +1

    This spreadsheet is great. Any chance of an update? Maybe a new post so other's can see?

    • brendanm on 17/08/2019 - 11:50

      You can always update it yourself and then upload to Google sheets or whatever it is

  • hackseed on 04/06/2022 - 17:15

    This thread needs a bump.

    • fez on 04/08/2022 - 13:51

      indeed. looks like its been dormant for a while :(

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