Choosing New Gas/Electric Providers

pharkurnell on 13/07/2021 - 21:12

So moving house end of the month and need to arrange stuff. Victoria.

Gas and electric, I've done the Gov Comparison site on Electric - and the first 8 companies I've never heard of. Theres only 1 wire/1 pipe for gas, surely there shouldnt be $700 difference from cheap->expensive.

What are the traps to look out for/consider when choosing NobodiesEverHeardOfMeButImCheap electric supplier or gas supplier…?

Most want direct debt, not a huge fan but not deal killer… I always get caught out with some sort of fine print.

Been with Lumo at current place for few yrs, their billing is shitful, as is their accounting/support when you call - they came in about 12th in the list.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • mickyb80 on 13/07/2021 - 21:36
    +1

    I just use iSelect and let them sort it out for me.
    After a few months, I'll call the provider again and do a spot check. Often they will add an extra discount or something in.

  • soan papdi on 13/07/2021 - 21:39
    +1

    Tango, Globird, Momentum are usually among the lowest. Some people like the wholesalers like Amber for power, never tried it. I'm with Tango now and Momentum before this, both are fine overall. Just pick one of the cheaper ones now and do a search every 6 months.

    • pharkurnell on 13/07/2021 - 21:44
      +1

      Some of the names sound so shonky to me like a big family go together and created their own supplier.

      The power club
      1st energy
      Powershop.
      Peoples Energy

      • lgacb08 on 14/07/2021 - 09:02
        +2

        That means you've been out of the loop and paying extra for named companies. They're all retailers and there're literally no risk if any of them go bust. And they won't give bogus reading to charge you non-existent usage because they have no control over the energy supply.

        Powershop has been around for ages, 1st energy is something new since last year, people energy probably got something to do with people Telecom that's been on the broadband market for a while.

        • techno2000 on 14/07/2021 - 09:15

          Yeah as if the electricity billed by known brands will be better quality……….

  • netjock on 13/07/2021 - 22:20

    first 8 companies I've never heard of

    Doesn't matter, you owe them money. If they owe you money then you'll be more worried. If they call you up asking for you to pay money to make money then obviously they are a scam.

  • uncompressed on 13/07/2021 - 22:21
    +1

    Powershop is reputable but I don't like how it needs to be actively managed.

    The Vic government comparison site does a pretty good job and you can also just run a simple spreadsheet and plug in your current consumption and see what difference the new provider's rates make.

    But I agree with @ggop. Tango, Momentum, and Globird are usually the top of the list when I run the comparison.

    • 87percent on 14/07/2021 - 08:32

      I’m with Powershop and I prefer that I need to actively watch my usage. There’s nothing worse than receiving a huge bill from whoever. Also, my energy usage has dropped because of this

      • uncompressed on 14/07/2021 - 09:33
        +1

        Cool. I monitor my usage via Powerpal but the prebuying of packages and "deals" etc from Powershop is not really for me. Plus I worked out it's not saving me any more than just going with a vanilla low cost provider like Tango (when I switched away from Powershop).

  • bmerigan on 13/07/2021 - 22:42

    We are with Globird for both, after switching electricity from Tango. No probs.

    • techno2000 on 14/07/2021 - 08:58

      Exactly the same for me.But Globird just hit me with a price increase for electricity.On the energy compare site they now seem to be nowhere near the cheapest for electricity so i am gone.Bye Bye Globird.

      • pharkurnell on 14/07/2021 - 09:55

        Yea Globird were well down the list for me, round 20th

    • Batman01 on 14/07/2021 - 09:22

      I'm with globird as well, gas and electricity. Once the increase just change providers and use vic government website to compare.

      • techno2000 on 14/07/2021 - 09:43

        Just a FYI, other providers also might change their prices soon.So either wait for a month or so and then change providers or move to a provider who will keep your price fixed for at least 1 year.

  • OpenHand on 14/07/2021 - 09:37
    +1

    Go to https://wattever.com.au/, they can pull the rates for your area. You can also check Solar Feed In if you have it.

    The data is all drawn from the same sources as the government searches, but I find it's much better organised. It also shows if the retailers have discounts for certain memberships (e.g. I just got 12% for an RAA membership. I was going to use that provider anyway, but didn't know about the RAA discount until Wattever showed me).

  • pharkurnell on 14/07/2021 - 10:39

    Thanks for info so far people

    Question# 18424: Fixed or Variable.

    how often do they change rates, is it a week by week thing, or is it monthly or? Basically do you have to spend time monitoring regularly or just leave it

    • avoidfullprice on 14/07/2021 - 22:42

      The plan you choose will say what the benefit period is.

      They will email you when your plan changes

      You should monitor regularly for a good deal. Say quarterly.

  • roonie on 15/07/2021 - 15:42

    Currently getting 10/11c FIT with AGL. They’re dropping this to 6.7. Anyone know if there are any reputable suppliers in Victoria with a decent FIT.

  • Clarky77 on 18/07/2021 - 18:54

    My advice is to check the Victorian government comparison make sure you tick the concession if you are eligible then have a look at cash Rewards and see if any of the top companies offer a cash back? If they do sign up and then every couple months rinse and repeat. Most terms state up to 90 days but in my experience cashback usually goes through within 60 days not including Energy Australia offers which are usually more money but it's more expensive. If you are lucky there'll be enough companies with good prices to keep rotating and after a year you'll have 5-6 X $70-$90 to knock off your electricity. Gas is similar but usually only $42 each and as gas doesn't have smart metering it's not as quick and easy to move around plus rates vary much more which can easily eat up that $42 so I'd stick with the best straight up offer. Hope that's helpful I haven't paid for electricity now for about 8 months ish but I am a pretty low energy user.

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