Plan Optimiser - Plan Switching Tips from Plan Optimiser

With the new addition of Plan Optimiser to My Solar Dashboard, it’s never been easier to review your energy plan and make sure you get the best match for your solar home profile. Here are some quick tips to get you started and save money.

Tips for customers who could switch to better plans

Step 1: Double-check your current plan

The first thing to check is to make sure the details of your current plan are correct. Your plan information document is the best place to start, but an electricity bill will be fine as well. If neither document is available, you can access your tariff information on your electricity retailer’s website or give your electricity retailer a call.

Regardless of what type of tariff you might have, here is some information you should confirm so that our calculations will be correct:

Solar Feed-in-tariff ($/kWh, or cent/kWh)
Daily supply charge ($/day, or cent/day)
Whether GST is included in the daily supply charge and other electricity rates

If you are on a flat tariff, you may also want to confirm your flat rate ($/kWh, or cent/kWh).

If you are on a time-of-use tariff, here is what you should check:

Peak/off-peak/shoulder rate ($/kWh, or cent/kWh)
Peak/off-peak/shoulder time windows

Finally, it is also worth checking if there are any other charges in your current plan that are not compared by Solar Analytics and may need to be factored in yourself. These include:

Controlled load tariff and charges*
Demand tariffs*
Stepped electricity rates (if your flat rate or feed-in-tariff changes after a certain amount of kWh)
Special deals and discounts

If you have a controlled load and demand tariffs and live in QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT or TAS, you may be eligible to monitor you controlled load in your Solar Analytics Dashboard and have your plan details updated automatically. Find out more.

Step 2: Confirm disconnection/move-out fees

The next information to check would be the disconnection/move out fee set by your current electricity retailer. This will be a one-time fee you need to pay when you switch to a different retailer. The best place to look is your plan information document. However, if this is not available, you can call your retailer or visit your retailer’s website. Alternatively, you can check for your current plan details using theEnergy Made Easy website (note the Energy Made Easy website only has energy plans in NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, ACT).

Step 3: Check for any additional fees of the new energy plans

The plan optimiser page should contain all the relevant rate information of the recommended energy plans, however, there may be some additional one-time or ongoing costs such as:

Account establishment fee/move-in/new connection fee (one-time)
Credit card payment fee (ongoing)
Paper bill fee (ongoing)
Membership fee (ongoing)

There could also be some promotional offers provided by the retailers, such as:

Sign up credit
Discount on the membership fees/electricity rates

There may also be some eligibility requirements, such as:

Some offers require you to have solar panels
Some offers require you to have a membership with a third party

It’s best to check with the electricity retailer regarding these potential additional fees, promotions and eligibility requirements. TheEnergy Made Easy website would also be a good place if you live in one of the following states: NSW, QLD, SA, TAS and ACT and Victoria Energy Compare for VIC.

Tips for customers who already are on the best plans

It is still worth double-checking your current plan details. Simply follow the same steps as Step 1 for customers who could switch to better plans and make sure all information is correct.

It is also worth checking back to the Plan Optimiser regularly. Energy providers often bring out new plans and deals so your plan may not be the best the next time you check!