Discount energy deals disappearing amid price surge
As energy prices skyrocket, customers are finding it harder to get a cheaper deal even if they shop around.
Small businesses struggling with higher costs have now banded together to bargain collectively with energy suppliers for cheaper prices.
Carlos Zeidan, who runs coffee roaster King Carlos Coffee in Hurstville, said it was too difficult for small business owners to negotiate cheaper prices directly with energy companies.
“Our monthly energy bill has tripled in price,” he said. “My business chamber was able to shop around on my behalf for a cheaper rate to bring that down almost 25 per cent.”
The Australian Energy Regulator on Wednesday reported savings had become difficult to find. Some market offers which usually included discounts and other benefits were now priced above standard rates. Large discounts for customers had become less common.
“This poses a new challenge for customers – taking up a retailer’s market offer no longer guarantees receiving their cheapest deal,” the regulator’s annual report says. “However, potential savings are available for customers who can navigate the information provided by retailers and price comparator websites.”
In September 2022, a customer moving from a standing offer to the cheapest market offer could have reduced their annual electricity costs by as much as $404 in NSW, $120 in south-east Queensland, $122 in South Australia, $193 in Victoria and $345 in the ACT, the report said.
Energy Consumers Australia will on Thursday release data showing households with a median income of about $93,000 a year pay 3.2 per cent of that on electricity costs, up 0.5 per cent since June. Households with income below $20,000 were spending 12.4 per cent on electricity costs, a 0.6 per cent increase since June. For households with incomes above $100,000, electricity costs ranged from 2.6 per cent to 1.9 per cent of their pay packets, increasing by up to 0.3 per cent since June.
Energy Consumers Australia chief executive Lynne Gallagher said the new national survey of households and small businesses had found a dramatic decrease in satisfaction about the value for money they were getting for gas and electricity. The December report found only 35 per cent of households were confident the market was working in their interests, down by 11 per cent in the past year.
“These findings underline the urgency of energy ministers coming together and committing to near, medium and long-term measures that address the structural barriers to affordability and greater equity of outcomes for households,” Gallagher said.
Executive director of Business Sydney, Paul Nicolaou, said energy providers were talking to industry groups such as Business NSW, which had negotiated on behalf of members to try to get better rates for energy bills.
Daniel Hunter, chief executive of Business NSW, said the body advises businesses on how to reduce energy costs through efficiency measures and “getting the best deal from their energy provider”. He said small businesses were struggling to find the advice they needed to make informed decisions about energy and getting to net-zero.
Commercial laundry business Rasko Linen Services in Marrickville, which employs 35 people, said it has been unable to find a cheaper deal since its monthly gas bill had quadrupled this year.
Executive director of the family business Michael Doropoulos said it had been “impossible” to find a discount rate. “There is no negotiation,” he said. “They say here’s the market rates, take it or leave it.”
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Source: Thanks smh.com