A recent Deloitte Insights report examining the landscape and hurdles to innovation for the energy sector revealed that retail providers are not responding to the threat of disruption with enough urgency. The report, Widening the Lens: Big picture thinking on disruptive innovation in the retail power sector, underpinned by a focus group of 40 Deloitte power and utilities global specialists, […]
Retail
EnergyAustralia provides automatic discounts to eligible customers
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Retail 0EnergyAustralia will give a 15 per cent discount on electricity and gas usage to eligible concession-card customers on default or “standing offer” tariffs. The ongoing discount will be applied automatically from 1 January 2019 and will mean EnergyAustralia concession customers including pensioners, veterans and healthcare-card holders on default tariffs will save an average $270 a year on their electricity usage […]
The Australian Energy Council has shared concerns over new rules aimed at protecting Victorian consumers, which it says fails to address consumer concerns about rising energy bills. The Australian Energy Council’s Chief Executive, Sarah McNamara, said measures announced by Victorian Labor to block direct marketing practices such as door-knocking have occurred without any industry consultation or objective cost-benefit analysis. “Door-to-door […]
AGL electricity customers will now receive an automatic discount on bills for standing offer customers. The initiative ensures all electricity customers who remain on a standing offer for a year automatically get a better deal, bringing them more in line with the majority of AGL customers who are already on discounted market offers. The new safety net means more than […]
Jemena has announced that its electricity network costs will remain flat for all its Victorian customers in 2019 after a review of its prices. Jemena Executive General Manager, Customer and Markets, Shaun Reardon, said the company was focused on keeping costs stable for its customers and had saved households $90, or 15 per cent, in electricity network costs since 2016 […]
Are electricity network profits $2.6 billion too high?
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Retail, Water 0The National Irrigator’s Council (NIC), on behalf of the Agricultural Industries Energy Taskforce, has released an independent report indicating that profits made by electricity networks are more than $2.6 billion higher than necessary, making electricity bills higher than is justified. The report has been met with a mixed response, with Energy Networks Australia CEO, Andrew Dillon, claiming that the report […]
Mixed feelings about government’s new energy policy
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Renewable Energy, Retail, Spotlight 0A major package of measures was announced by the Federal Government on 23 October 2018 with the aim to reduce Australian families’ power bills by hundreds of dollars per year; however, by 26 October 2018, the measures were announced to be back under consideration. The new ‘price safety net’ announced on 23 October was set to introduce a default market […]
It’s the question that’s been plaguing electricity retailers for many years now — “How do we reduce customer churn?” For Ed McManus, CEO of Meridian Energy and Powershop Australia, it comes down to something as simple, and complex, as being “a better power company”. We sat down with Mr McManus to discuss the challenges of retail in a difficult energy market, and the changes he’s putting in place to regain the trust of consumers.
How UK software Aptumo is delivering Australia an apt, SaaS solution for customer billing
Lauren Butler Retail, Sponsored Editorial 0If the average utility customer spends only eight minutes per year thinking about energy or water, then it is incumbent on the companies that serve them to make those precious minutes as positive as possible. Software as a service (SaaS) solution, Aptumo, can customise customer-billing experiences to see your utility retail services valued – in competitive or regulated settings. The […]
SaaS customer billing solution set to shake up utility markets
Utility Journalist Digital Utilities, Retail 0The average Australian’s experience of utilities, in recent years, has been marred by rising bills, fraught with politics, and slow digitisation; it’s left the retail energy and water offer seemingly out of step with rapidly rising consumer expectations on service and experience. Entering the market at a pivotal time for Australia’s utility retailers, UK tech trailblazer Echo Managed Services […]
Call for longer notice period for generator closures
Utility Journalist Electricity, News, Policy, Retail 0Energy Networks Australia is calling for an increase in the notice period companies are required to provide the market when closing electricity generators. In its submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission, Energy Networks Australia has recommended the time-of-closure notice be extended from three to five years, to allow networks enough time to build infrastructure to support new electricity generation. […]
A draft rule to move settlement of the demand size of the wholesale electricity market to a global settlement framework has been published by the AEMC. This is a move away from the ‘settlements by difference’ approach to settlement, which has been in place since the creation of the national electricity market. The draft rule sets out a detailed design […]
A new guide has been released for the Australian manufacturing industry, identifying practical and proven strategies to deliver energy and cost savings across manufacturing operations in a climate of high energy prices. The Australian Manufacturing: Gas Efficiency Guide, released by the Clean Energy Finance Council (CEFC), examines the energy needs of a wide range of manufacturers, from food and beverage […]
New draft rule aiming to improve energy system reliability
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Retail 0The Federal Government has announced its support of the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) draft rule requiring generators to give at least three years’ notice of closure. “The closure of Hazelwood with just six months’ notice drove up wholesale prices and threatened the reliability of our energy system,” Federal Minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, said. “Notice of […]
The NSW Government will waive the fixed charge component cost of most Water Licences in rural and regional NSW in a new initiative. As part of its Emergency Drought Relief Package, the NSW Government will provide financial assistance of up to $4000 to all general security licence holders (and supplementary water access licence holders) in rural and regional NSW. The […]
The Australian Energy Council has stated that the energy sector can and should make improvements to customer outcomes in response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry (ACCC) report. The ACCC report underlines the complexity of the market and the reality that there is no silver bullet, the energy council said. The Australian Energy Council’s Chief […]
Energy Consumers Australia has responded to the ACCC’s final report on its review of the drivers of high electricity prices, commenting that it provides a full and frank assessment of the industry and regulatory framework. Energy Consumers Australia Acting CEO, Lynne Gallagher, said the final report confirms what consumers are telling them: that the electricity market is not working as […]
AER releases new draft decision on Rate of Return Guideline
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Retail 0The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has released a draft decision on the new Rate of Return Guideline. AER chair Paula Conboy said the draft decision on the Rate of Return Guideline reflected the outcome of a significant engagement and consultation process, and would provide the stable investment climate required to build and maintain Australia’s energy networks into the future. […]
What to look for in an ideal asset lifecycle management solution
Lauren Cella Asset management, Digital Utilities, News, Retail, Sponsored Editorial 0By Brian Devlin Most mature organisations recognise that a unified, whole-of-organisation approach to asset lifecycle management is critical to achieve best practice alignment and maximise the value of assets across their lifecycle. This ‘big picture’ approach should seamlessly integrate people, process, data and technology across disparate business functions. It should enable organisations to make informed decisions about how, when and […]
The Essential Services Commission (ESC) released its finalised pricing decision for four of Victoria’s 17 water corporations – Yarra Valley Water, South East Water, East Gippsland Water and Westernport Water, ensuring some of the lowest water bills in the country. The decision will keep Melbourne’s water prices lower than Sydney (by $82), Canberra (by $133), Adelaide (by $162) and Darwin […]
Telco fined for misleading NBN claims
Charlotte Pordage Company news, News, Policy, Retail, Telecommunications 0Optus Internet (Optus) has been ordered to pay $1.5 million in penalties by the Federal Court for making misleading representations to customers about their transition from Optus’ HFC network to the National Broadband Network (NBN). From October 2015 to March 2017, Optus told around 14,000 of its customers that their services would be disconnected (in as little as 30 days […]
Regulatory innovation: an oxymoron or future necessity?
Charlotte Pordage Digital Utilities, Electricity, Features, Retail, Sustainability 0With the delivery of network services advancing at a rapid pace, do current energy sector regulatory regimes encourage the innovation required to meet the future needs of customers or should new approaches be adopted to foster productive change in the market? Current technology, consumer and digitisation trends are transforming the electricity network and reshaping it from the ground up. This is supported by […]
AEMC requests stakeholder feedback
Utility Journalist Company news, Electricity, Instrumentation, Control & Monitoring, News, Retail 0The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is seeking stakeholder feedback on a rule change request from Federal Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, to reduce the risk of customers being exposed to the financial shock of inaccurately estimated bills. The proposed rule would allow customers to have their electricity or gas bill based on their own reading of the meter. This could […]
Energy initiatives receive funding in the Federal Budget
Lauren Butler Electricity, News, Policy, Retail, Water 0The Australian Government has committed $41.5 million in the 2018/19 Budget to help keep the lights on and to put downward pressure on power bills, including a $28.7 million investment over five years from 2017-18 to push ahead with its national energy policy. The national energy policy includes: The design and development of Australia’s first integrated climate and energy policy […]
Energy laws in Queensland will be reviewed to accommodate new energy storage systems, remote-controlled home energy and customers who are independent of the electricity grid. An issues paper released in early May kicks off a ten-yearly review of the laws that regulate energy issues from energy-generating customers to licences for electric car charging stations. QLD Minister for Energy, Dr Anthony […]
Ausgrid electricity prices to drop under new proposal
Utility Journalist Company news, Electricity, News, Retail 0Ausgrid has submitted a proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for a six per cent reduction in its network prices from 1 July 2019 following customer and stakeholder consultation on its 2019-24 Regulatory Proposal (the Proposal). Ausgrid CEO, Richard Gross, said the Proposal sets out how much the business needs to invest in the next five years to deliver […]
Electricity asset dividend delivered
Charlotte Pordage Company news, Electricity, News, Retail, Spotlight 0Queensland residents will start receiving credits of $50 from 30 April 2018 on 1.9 million household power bills as part of the government’s $2 billion Affordable Energy Plan. Queensland Minister for Energy, Dr Anthony Lynham, said the $50 dividend was a cornerstone of the plan and the first of two annual payments – annual asset ownership dividends – made possible […]
New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) have shown a 4.8 per cent drop in electricity prices in Brisbane during the last quarter. Queensland Minister for Energy, Dr Anthony Lynham, said, “This is in stark contrast to a 1.8 per cent increase recorded nationally in the latest Consumer Price Index figures.’ “These figures very clearly show that […]
Endevour Energy has sent a proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) on the total revenue it can recover from customers from 2014 to 2019. “We’ve held constructive conversations with customer representatives and the AER about how to resolve our 2014-19 revenue determination and manage future pricing outcomes for customers,” Endeavour Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Tony Narvaez, said. “We are […]
QLD council joins electricity trial
Charlotte Pordage Digital Utilities, Electricity, News, Retail 0Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has become the first council in Queensland to join a trial to optimise electricity use and save money for ratepayers. Minister for Energy, Dr Anthony Lynham, said the agreement with Yurika, part of the Energy Queensland group of companies, sees TRC as the first council subscriber to the Virtual Power Plant. “The Yurika Virtual Power Plant […]
Balancing act: future-proofing Australia’s electricity network
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