Electricity and Natural Gas Retailers - Which Ones Are Good?

upended on 07/05/2021 - 12:01

I have been with Origin Energy for the past few years and the plan I was on provided me a 32% discount for electricity and 33% for natural gas. That plan has ended and the plan they are now offering me is not very appealing, especially when I compare it with the earlier discounts I received. I asked them if they could give me additional discounts but they declined. So, I set out to explore new plans on www.energymadeeasy.gov.au and the top 3 electricity plans are from GloBird, Elysian Energy and ReAmped. The top 3 natural gas plans are from GloBird, Agl and SimplyEnergy.

Other than Agl, this is the first time I have come across these retailers. Not sure how big or small they are. Does anyone on this forum have any experience in dealing with these retailers? Anything I need to watch out for? Any recommendations? Help me choose.

Thanks in advance!

Home & Garden Electricity Gas Supply

Comments

  • dazweeja on 07/05/2021 - 12:24
    +1

    I was with GloBird. They were fine. Switching, billing and everything else went smoothly although I didn't ever need to contact them about anything.

    I'm now with Powerclub for electricity and they work out a bit cheaper for me, but the pricing model is not as straightforward. Basically, you pay a yearly membership fee, an upfront amount into a Powerbank (sort of a rainy day fund) and then just pay the wholesale electricity rate (which you can see in real time through their app).

  • Ocker on 07/05/2021 - 12:25
    +2

    Check out Tango

  • keo on 07/05/2021 - 12:32
    +1

    Currently with Globird, only thing I don't like is that there is no online portal at all. Otherwise no issues and response time from emails was ok.

    After you cancel Origin, they will call you back and try to match or beat your deal. Whoever you go with keep the numbers handy when they call you and you might end up with even better discount.

    • upended on 07/05/2021 - 12:51
      +1

      They did exactly that the last time before I renewed with them. Which is why this time I proactively asked them if they could just offer me better rates, which would have saved them and me (a lot of) time. But they decided that wasn't going to happen.

  • JimB on 07/05/2021 - 12:45
    -2

    It doesn't really matter who your retailer is as the electricity and gas come from the distributor regardless of which retailer you use.

    Well it does matter because different retailers have different prices and plans.

    • upended on 07/05/2021 - 12:54

      Yes, those top 3 were based on the estimated price (starting from lowest). That said, this post was only to find out how easy/difficult they are to deal with. If there are any red flags, I'd like to avoid them even if their prices are low.

  • GG57 on 07/05/2021 - 13:39
    +1

    Some people also include in their considerations such things as corporate responsibility and compliance. Up to the individual to decide if that overrides a better price perhaps.

  • Colombian on 07/05/2021 - 14:21
    +3

    It is not about the discounts… it is about the rates…. perhaps you had good discounts but awful rates and you didn't know? I prefer having no discount and good rates.

    • upended on 07/05/2021 - 16:20

      Yes, I agree. But it is hard to compare the rates - not impossible but time consuming (with lots of attention to minor details). That is why I used Energy Made Easy website. Is there a faster and better way to make an informed decision?

  • apple2016 on 07/05/2021 - 16:48
    +1

    Lumo - usually one of the cheapest

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 08/05/2021 - 02:29
    +1

    AGL are essentially opportunistic scammers in my opinion/experience. I advise you to avoid AGL like the plague.

    Based on my personal experience only (i.e. a sample size of 1!), ever since moving from AGL to 'PowerShop' relatively soon after getting solar panels on my roof, I have found PowerShop to be a good electricity provider.

  • Corgsta on 09/05/2021 - 15:05
    +1

    We’ve been with Red Energy for years and their customer service is really good. I rang them the other day to change addresses and got through to someone Melbourne based in minutes. Friendly and helpful.

    As for rates, they’re competitive. Probably not the cheapest but they do source all power from Snowy Hydro.

  • Ruprect on 18/05/2021 - 10:50
    +1

    I'm in Vic and with ReAmped for electricity as they were cheapest for my area. I like them as they have a very easy web interface, a live billing page where previous days costs are deducted live, various billing periods. I chose 2 weeks as I'm on a limited fixed income so it makes it easy to manage. They also have a generous referral scheme which also helps if you have friends and family looking for a budget elect retailer.

    For Gas I'm with Globird. Also good pricing and they have monthly bills. My meter is read every two months so they estimate every second bill but its within reason and no bill shock. Been working really well. Very happy with them

    • upended on 18/05/2021 - 10:53

      Thank you!

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