This week, the now annual payment of $250 is available for Victorian households became available. This State Government incentive is aimed at incentivising you to do the work (it’s not much work) to consider switching your energy retailer in an effort to save you money and help with your cost of living challenges.
While this $250 rebate won’t make your quarterly bill cheaper, changing plans to a new provider can.
The process of claiming this rebate is really quite simple, amazingly simple for a Government process. Start by visiting compare.energy.vic.gov.au, upload a bill or detail your energy consumption manually, then enter your payment details and you’ll be taken to an energy plan comparison screen (below).
One potential shortcoming of the process is that you’re only asked to upload a single bill, however, our bills tend to change significantly throughout the seasons, particularly in summer vs winter if you have solar (many Aussie households do).
You can tackle this in a couple of different ways. You could select your highest bill, to see the maximum possible difference between your current plan and potential alternatives, or find an average that splits the difference and use that instead.
Personally, I found that my current provider, Origin Energy is much higher than many other providers. Given Origin fumbled its new EV plan, it’s time for me to choose an alternative.
What is the $250 Power Saving Bonus?
The Power Saving Bonus is a $250 payment for Victorian households to help ease cost-of-living pressures and encourages them to compare energy offers and save money.
The Bonus is available to all Victorian households who visit the Victorian Energy Compare website or engage with an energy affordability service through a participating community outreach partners.
How do I apply for a $250 Power Saving Bonus?
To apply for a $250 Power Saving Bonus, eligible households must submit an application on this website or apply through a participating community outreach partner.
When can eligible households apply for the $250 Power Saving Bonus?
Eligible households can apply for a $250 Power Saving Bonus from 24 March 2023 to 31 August 2023. The Bonus is available to all Victorians households who visit the Victorian Energy Compare website or engage with an energy affordability service through a participating community outreach partners.
Who is eligible for the $250 Power Saving Bonus?
The $250 Power Saving Bonus is available to all Victorian households. To be eligible for the $250 Power Saving Bonus, Victorian households will need to:
- Have a recent residential electricity bill
- Be the account holder for that bill
- Visit the Victorian Energy Compare website or engage with an energy affordability service through one of participating community outreach partners.
