Guide to switching plans: how to get what you want when talking to electricity providers

Congrats! After looking at our Plan Optimiser, you’ve now got the knowledge and power to switch electricity providers and get a much better deal. Unfortunately, electricity companies don’t really want you shopping around so they tend to make this process a lot harder than it needs to be. That’s why we’ve put together a quick guide to make sure the process is seamless and you get the best deal!

There are 5 key steps:

1. Confirm the current rate you’re paying
2. Try to switch online to your preferred rate (if you’re lucky, you can stop here!)
3. If not, you’ll need to prepare for a phone battle
4. Call up, and get the best deal
5. Get a copy of your new rates, in writing, and confirm they are what you expect

1. Confirm the current rate you’re paying

Electricity companies love to sneakily change their rates while you’re not paying attention. They must let you know of this beforehand but often will do this with a small note on your bill. But let’s be honest - who really pays attention to those?

So to confirm that your rates are what you expect, take out your most recent bill and check that either:

• Your rates (including GST) match up to the rates in your current plan on your My Electricity Bill page or
• Your bill total is equal to the My Electricity Bill total (within 10%) when you put your billing period into the My Electricity Bill calendar

Also, take note of whether you’re on a flat or time of use tariff, as this makes a big difference in the next step!

2. Try to switch online

1. Go to the electricity provider’s website and go to their “Compare Rates” or “Get a Quote” section
2. Put in your address and see what rates come up

Usually, at this point you will get the two or three different plans that the electricity company has to offer. Often these look like:

• A “standard” offer which has a mid-range supply charge and import rates but a low (or non-existent) solar feed-in rate
• A “special” offer which has lower import rates but extra conditions (e.g. a higher supply charge, a member fee, you pay in advance or agree to stay for 1+ years) and a low (or non-existent) solar feed-in rate
• A “solar” offer which has higher supply charge and rates but a much improved solar feed-in rate

If any of the rates match the plan you are looking for, awesome! Select that plan, follow the prompts and go ahead to step 5!

Be sure to check the rates, not just the plan name. Sometimes they’ll have the same plan name but with a different rate.

If you can’t find it online, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get it. You may just need to call them to get access to the best rate for you.

3. Prepare for a phone call

It’s important to have all the information prepared and in front of you before you make the phone call. Trust me, this will make the experience a whole lot less painful!

You’ll need:

• Your most recent electricity bill. You can use this to confirm your current rates and energy usage

• Determine whether you need to switch from flat to time of use or vice versa

  • Online, you’ll only be shown rates that are of the tariff type you currently have (e.g. you’ll only see flat rates if you are currently on a flat rate)
  • All homes with solar must have smart meters, so if you’ve got solar you definitely have the correct meter to be able to access a time of use tariff (despite what their website or sales rep may tell you…)

• Your top three plans from Plan Optimiser - you can use these to negotiate with the electricity retailer

• The rates you found on their website. You can ask why these are different to the one you want to switch to and see what they say

4. Make the call!

I know you don’t want to - no one does. But this is how electricity companies manage to constantly get away with price hikes without you realising.

Just remember a few things:

• Now you’ve prepared, you know just as much (actually probably more) than the sales rep you’re about to speak to
• You’re a prospective new customer, so they rep on the phone will probably bend over backwards to get you onboard
• You may not be able to get the exact rate you’re after, but if you can get to within a cent for each rate, then you’re winning!

Here’s an example script for you to work with:

Sales Rep: Hello, how can I help you?

You: Hi! I found one of your plans online and I would like to switch to it, please.

Sales Rep: Great, which plan is that?

You: I’d like to move to the Super Solar Time of Use plan. Can you do that?

Sales Rep: We can offer you the Super Solar plan, no worries. Let me grab your details.

You: Here’s my address, and I have 10kW of solar with a smart meter.

Sales Rep: Sorry, it looks like you are only eligible for our flat Super Solar plan.

You: That’s odd, I know I have a smart meter which means I should be able to go onto a Time of Use plan. Are you able to change my tariff type to Time of Use with my network provider?

Sales Rep: Ah yes, I can actually do that. I will sign you up to our Super Solar Plan and move you to a Time of Use tariff.

You: Great, thank you! Can you confirm the rates, and email me the Basic Plan Information Document?

Sales Rep: Yep, here they are. You will also receive an email with these rates in there shortly.

You: Fantastic, thanks for all your help. See ya!

5. Confirm the rates are correct

When your contract comes through, confirm the rates are exactly what you expect.

• Sometimes, there are conditions you may not have been aware of or didn’t expect
• The rates may have been quoted without GST, or with extra discounts included, so make sure to read the fine print
• Take note of when any benefits may end. For example, many plans have a discounted rate or better solar feed-in rate for only the first year. You’ll want to take note of this to avoid any nasty surprises
• Every plan will have a cooling off period, so if it is not what you signed up to you can always pull out within a few days

6. Fill out our survey so we can help more people

Whether you managed to switch or not, we would love to hear about your experience. This way, we can understand which electricity companies are easy to deal with and which ones are just outright painful! Fill out our survey here.

Did you know: switching tariff types

If you are already on a flat or time of use offer, it’s usually much harder to switch to the other one. This is because the electricity company needs to either:

• Do more work to switch your house to a new network tariff (this forms part of the price they pay to get electricity access to your house)
• Take on the risk of a misaligned network tariff. The price they pay and the price you pay are calculated differently, so it’s harder for them to be sure they will make money out of you!

Hence, some companies will say they cannot switch you from a flat to a TOU tariff because “Your meter configuration doesn’t allow it” or something along those lines.

So, what can you do?

The retailer is not under any obligation to give you the specific plan you’re asking for. However, to convince them to give you it you can try;

• Say you will walk away and find somewhere else (remember they want you as their customer!)

  • “Unless you give me a time of use plan, I’m going to look somewhere else”

• Tell them other electricity companies have offered you that type of plan

  • “That’s interesting, because Mojo power said they would give me a flat rate for my energy”

If they still don’t give you the plan you want, you can always look elsewhere!