West Australian households are set to receive a $600 credit towards their next power bill, in what will be a signature policy of the McGowan Government’s State Budget, to be released on Thursday.
About 1.1 million households will receive the one-off credit from November 1 — just in time for the next power bill, the West Australian reported.
You can withdraw credit in your synergy account, so most likely…
A friend works in Synergy billing advises that the final decision has not yet been made, but their default position internally is that the credit will not be able to be withdrawn (as with the REBS credits) into your bank account. The reason is they are worried folks will withdraw and run a bad debt with them after Xmas. Sorry to ruin your Christmas!
A friend works in Synergy billing advises that the final decision has not yet been made
Except it clearly has?
https://www.synergy.net.au/Covid-19/Helping-you-at-home
Can I get any credit in my account refunded to my bank account?
No. If you are transferring your customer account to a different address, then your credit can be carried forward and applied to future bills at the new address.The WA Household Electricity Credit is non-refundable. Customers will not be able to seek a refund or cash-out any surplus amount, it can only be used as an offset against costs associated with the supply of electricity at the residential premises.
Put it towards a solar system.
You meant OUR solar system.
makethesungreatagain
Does this include k1 tariff for home business?
They gave $2500 earlier in the year to businesses
https://www.synergy.net.au/About-us/News-and-announcements/M…
Marky you legend.
Nice one for WA residents. Though your state budget is one of the biggest roller coasters to watch each year, reality is iron ore prices and exports to China are almost the sole driver of whether its a good or bad year
Come to mandurah we can export some drug addicts if you'd like
And that’s fine. The world needs a lot of metal to transition to renewables and WA can provide a reliable source of metals.
It's where you GST comes from.
Aw yissss
Mark for PM
Is this tied to an address? If so, that's (profanity) bullshit as we'll be moving out of our rental and settlement isn't till after the 1st. I'll be pissed if I miss out on this.
It's tied to a billing address. Are you not moving into somewhere else directly after moving out? You'll get it for that address.
Keep the power on, get the credit and cash it out? But if you use their "moving house" service, it should follow your account.
Just to answer this ‘officially’ now as the Synergy website has been updated
And I thought Dan was power hungry !
yeah too bad he doesn't have a Synergy account eh
Awesome news. Mark proves once again that he's a bloody legend!! (profanity) love living in WA.
Shhh
People might realise we actually have it pretty good. Affordable houses and decent beaches.
Does it register as an ongoing credit in ones account? .. or a one off deduction?
https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/mcgowa…
The electricity bill credit will be automatically applied to every Synergy or Horizon residential account from Sunday.
It can be applied to future bills and will not be means tested.
If it’s automatically applied this sounds like a PSA hat belongs in the forums.
This handout will make a tangible difference to a lot of people’s lives. If you reside in WA, feel free to pass on the handout to your neighbour/family in need if you don’t want it
How do you suggest the millions returned to the government after a decades long legal battle be used? Fiscal stimulus by giving money to people rather than businesses works, which is one of the main drivers behind this move.
Didn't the state electricity company make a whopping loss? Something like $600m loss last year.
Take it and bank it because the government will be coming back for it one way or another.
Who cares if they make money or loss, the loss per tax payer is still peanuts compared to those states that sold off the grid to private entities and consumers has been footing the ever increasing bill
LOL people who think they got sold off and the money went into a black hole.
If you sell your car they money gets redeployed. Therefore in theory it went into productive use.
Lets not pretend that $600 is free money, given it is the government it comes with cost administration therefore probably $600 is more like $660.
If the government wanted to do it the easy way they would just go and reduce everyone's per kwh charges but then wouldn't get these beautiful populist headlines.
I'm good not donating to a privately run company which pays dividends to shareholders.
No road tolls and government run utilities. Doesnt get much better
@Drakesy: LOL another one who pretends everything is fine now knowing how the money flows.
You expecting a cushy government pension too. Milk might flow from your tap one day too.
@netjock: Hardly.
I'm all for private investment. Though when the privatisation results in people paying more for the same service that's when it's counterproductive.
Unless you believe the American health system is set up better than we have it in Australia? Might want to move there if that's the case.
But then again a $200 million profit for Transurban is just cents in the dollar right? I mean their customer service is top notch and value for money incredible!
Its a hard pass from me thanks, not buying your argument will stick to my toll less roads. Oh and state surplus.
@Drakesy: LOL
You know that the WA government lost $900m 30 years ago, and this $600m is as a result of settlement for Bell Group in liquidation. Article here
To be clear: the $600 credit comes from $600m (before legal fees of $300m) of which is what is left of $900m (figure by Royal Commission) the WA government invested into Bell Group 30 years ago.
I hope you are happy getting $0.33 back for the $1 from 30 years go.
@netjock: Wasn't alive then
How good is free money!
Would happily take a $600 million loss than paying $1 billion in fees to privatized corporations to provide us with sub par service like say, South Australia and Victoria?
Btw haven't had a blackout for 20+ years
@Drakesy: It isn't about whether you were alive then. If it happened once it is bound to happen again.
I am surprised at your lack of outrage. But then I guess it is easier to believe you are some how benefiting at the expense of others, the epidemic of our times: selfishness.
You say sub par in SA and Victoria. You can't stop high winds blowing down transmission wires, neither could you stop generator units breaking down and going out of service during the middle of summer. You're just generalizing which is pretty poor form.
Would be nice to give us credit towards batteries.
Is the power in WA unreliable?
Not really. There are occasional hiccups, but rarely long term outages. If you've got solar panels then batteries are a decent idea, but I don't think the financial side has quite tipped the balance. A few hundred dollars might help but that would cut out a lot of people who can't afford the initial cost of the solar or the batteries. This way every household gets their share.
Luckily, I live in an area where all the power lines are underground. We rarely have outages due to storms or damage to poles.
No but we have massive solar uptake and a much smaller grid to feed back into than the eastern states. To ensure grid stability we will need to invest in storage solutions to lessen the impact of rooftop solar.
wa has one of the most reliable power networks in the country due to the government not privatising it.
When a network is privatised the companies handball the responsibility for turning on extra generation during peak periods. Profit is prioritised over supply.
I just don't see the value in buying a battery. My excess solar is exported to the grid during the day and I buy it back during peak periods in the evening.
If power was unreliable then a battery might be worth it but it's not.
@mysterytal: I agree batteries at the moment are not-economical. However the natural curve which results in technologies generally halving in price every 3 years should make it a viable solution in a couple of years time.
yesss free eneloops!
Then it won't be an equitable bribe to the electorate.
OOS in Vic
Nice but the state thanks you for all the Fed funds :)
Why is this a deal, you don't need to do anything to get it? Isn't this a forum post?
He’s from Melbourne.
Oh! oops…
He should move to WA
He probably found his own way to make free electricity….
Is that you Clive?
Please, do go into more detail how he’s ruining the nation’s economy….
How So? You got something to back you up on that? And finally wa is getting 50% of its gst money back, if that's ruining the national economy, then so be it.
What are you on about? I’m not from WA, but this seems like it’s going to directly help a lot of people over the hot holiday season. $600 that can be spent elsewhere instead of on bills seems like a decent way of helping the economy to me.
Exactly, this is the first time this year that there's been a stimulus that will actually help me.
The WA economy is really in a bad way too……not.
https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2020/09/…
"ABS National Accounts data released last week showed Western Australia's domestic economy was the only State to experience growth for the 2019-20 year, growing 1.1 per cent. This was the fastest growth in seven years and highlights the strength of the Western Australian economy prior to COVID 19.
States with open borders faired significantly worse than those with closed borders in the June quarter, with New South Wales and Victoria both contracting by around 8.5 per cent. This compares to a six per cent contraction in State Final Demand for WA in the June quarter.
When comparing our economy to other established economies around the world, WA is in the top performing economies, highlighting the State's response to COVID-19 as world-leading."
1.1% growth being the best result in 7 years isn't something to be proud of. Compare that growth to NSW and Victoria over the same period and they're still ahead. Average Australian growth over the same period was 2% to 3% pa.
It said the "fastest" growth rate, not sure what the measure is but it's far from the "best".
ie. 2019/20 WA was 4.17%, Vic and NSW were 2.96% and 2.73% respectively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_states_and_…
The "States and territories by comparison between SFD and GSP" table in that link is a bit of an interesting read.
Oh you read The Australian.. makes sense now.
put the bottle down, mate
Envy isn't a cute look. Marko has ensured that we in WA can enjoy a 99% normal existence while the rest of the world is going mad. If you think he is responsible for ruining the nations economy you should pick your fight with those who actually manage the nations economy, that's not his job. When WA needed him he stood up, unlike Scotty from marketing who pissed of to Hawaii.
How do I buy this deal??
By opening a residential account with Synergy/Horizon in WA.
Smart arse question gets a smart arse answer.
It's not a deal if it's an automatic payment. It's arguably less of a deal than a tax return.
Yeah, go buy or rent a property in WA.
Did you guys know as a tenant I will be eligible for that?
Cheers
As a tenant you should receive your own power bills from the electricity company, so yes it would apply to you
Thx
So, everyone needs to start posting income tax deductibles, government rebates etc as bargains now?
Deal? No.
Bargain? No.
Considering they don't need to do anything to get it XD
The council filled a pot hole in my street last week, should have posted a deal!
What a poor comparison. You weren't ever paying to have it fixed so there is no cost saving. As a Western Australian I am saving $600 I would've otherwise had to spend so I consider it a deal.
Cool so no one pays the Federal , State and Local government taxes and the funds come from a magical pot .
I hope Mark has this covered too .
@popsiee: Actually the funds aren't out of federal, state or local government taxes. But I guess it's easier to whinge and neg the deal than to google and get your facts straight?
@Jules855: LOL you should really Google the answer.
In short: money is from settlement 30 years after Bell group collapsed. The WA government is going to get gross $600m ($300m legal fees) after losing gross $900m 30 years ago.
$900m 30 years ago isn't the same as $600m now. I guess in short the money is an inheritance pay out of cents in the dollar.
I can't recall a time when people are smug when they paid out $1 and got $0.66 back.
ABC article on where the current $600 comes from
How much the WA government is really getting
I don't know how I'd feel if the government said they are going to give me $600 credit but take out $900 in another way.
Thee council came to collect my garbage on Friday, I should have posted a deal!
Yes if you are on JobKepper, JobSeeker and getting all this. Zero outlay.
agreed, not a deal
Sunday is a slow day here in OzB, ads are cheaper to post. Like TV ads late at night.
Why can't other states dig up for natural resources and stop the damn immigration?
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/171bcashcow-ng-b88596700z
My point that WA is the Santa/cashcow to other states :)
Obviously different states need it now than this older version .
Keep up the hard work .
WA is basically a welfare addict that occasionally wins the lottery every now and then, and promptly finds itself back on welfare after spending its windfall. The state is a heavy net recipient of funding distribution over the course of its history.
U must be on some real good stuff… sigh, be safe and sulk, your welfare is proudly supported by WA's everlasting mining windall.
@cosmoxeon: Huh? You do know that from the early 1900s until approx 2007 WA was a net beneficiary of federal funding, right?! : https://theconversation.com/was-economic-mismanagement-is-no…
I have never understood this about the whole WA succession movement, because in the long term WA is economically far better off being part of Australia than not. And I celebrate that WA is doing so well with covid and economically. But please don't fall for the baseless claim that you've been supporting the rest of Australia for ever, or that the iron ore windfall will be everlasting.
Why can't other states dig up for natural resources""
"Queensland digs up stuff as well……
And still receives more of it's gst dollar back than it gives. In 2016-17 QLD got $1.05 back per $1. Compare to WA recieving $0.38 per $1 in the same year.
Awesome, means I won't be paying any electricity bills until 2022. Due to my solar system, I average less than $50/month for a whole year.
well hopefully my mother won't be on my neck about using the aircon this summer. hooray for some comfort!
Not really a bargain, but still voting for it, thanks for the PSA, heard it here first :-)
24-hours limit for voting negative on comments is currently capped at 5
![[WA] $600 Credit to Every WA Household for Power Costs - WA Government](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/80/570380.jpg?h=e86e31a8)
Can we use this to buy alcohol instead?