Embedded Network - Pros&Cons??

Just recently renting new apartment and once we finalise everything, agent told us to contact a specific electricity&gas provider to activate it.

He mentioned the building is under Embedded Network program, where it buy the electricity&gas in bulk and distribute it to the residents based on their usage.

Might be a noob on this matter, but this is first time for me hearing such an arrangement.

I thought we can always choose our own provider as we have the right as a customer..but apparently not in everywhere?

I'm reluctant to switch to this provider as it looks more expensive, but I don't think I have any choice. I can't even check their pricing in their website..

Has anyone under this embedded arrangement for their supplies? What are the pros & cons under this? I heard it could be cheaper for the user, but is this true??

Comments

    • Thanks, but what I'm after is the actual experience from some people who is under such an arrangement. Is it really cheaper than the retail price

      • Anecdotally from people who live in these developments, not necessarily cheaper, but also not more expensive like I'd assumed they'd be, considering it's effectively a local monopoly.

        I wouldn't worry too much about it, no one has complained to me about how much they're being charged, and I'm usually the one who they go to first for these kinds of complaints.

        • I wouldn't worry too much about it, no one has complained to me about how much they're being charged, and I'm usually the one who they go to first for these kinds of complaints

          First of all, welcome back, haven't seen you these active for a long time.

          Secondly, your quote above, you have some relation with EWON?

          • @Taro Milk Tea: Hey.

            And no - nothing that official. I work in legal though, touching on property. I was curious when embedded networks first came on the scene too so I'd ask clients about their experiences basically as background knowledge/context.

  • It isn’t cheaper.
    You are stuck with a monopoly operation. So there is no reason to be competitive

    • You can still go off from embedded network and choose retailer, isn't it?

      • Nope. Literally the infrastructure for those developments are owned by the embedded network, so only they can provide the service.

  • +1

    What are the pros & cons under this?

    Pros
    You dont have to shop around, save time that can otherwise be used to browse this website
    Maybe you’ll feel good during outage knowing you’re not the only one

    NONE

    Cons
    You have no other retailer options. You literally have no choice. New ish apartments, most if not all, have this arrangement. Strata/body corp gets extra $ for this exclusive contract.

    I heard it could be cheaper for the user, but is this true??

    Depends. Most of the time NO. It’s not overly expensive either. It’s average, it’s not $1 vs $100.

  • Most embedded networks are setup with smart metering that actually make it very easy to change retailers later - and because they want you to stay, you can usually price barter them to a better deal! The regulations that changed a few years ago actually mean you have a right to choose a retailer as well, so they can't deny you - but there can be a cost to upgrade the meter if it's an older one. I found some helpful content from these guys that might be what you're after?
    https://www.enmsolutions.com.au/industry-insight/new-rule-fo…
    https://www.enmsolutions.com.au/embedded-network-manager
    Good luck!

  • It can be bad if youre a frugal energy user if they dont have individual meters. If there arent individual meters everyone pays an equal portion of usage. So if your neighbour runs grow lamps 24/7 and you sit in the dark watching the phone you charged at work youll still pay the same amount each for power. It means that heavy users have less incentive to cut back.

    If theres separate meters, then you will only pay for the portion of the overall bill that you use.

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