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Understanding Energy.

All about your electricity and gas.

Easy English April 2015.

About this booklet.

This booklet is about energy.

Energy is electricity and gas.

This booklet talks about

how you use energy.

types of energy companies.

how to read energy bills.

how you pay for energy.

how to get a concession on energy.

This booklet can help you know what to do if

you can not pay your bill.

you have a problem with your electricity

or gas company.

1

Types of energy companies

This booklet talks about

energy distribution companies.

energy retailers.

Energy distribution companies.

This book talks about 2 kinds of energy distribution companies

electricity distribution company.

gas distribution company.

An electricity distribution company

owns the poles and wires.

looks after the poles and wires.

owns smart meters.

A gas distribution company owns the gas pipes

under the ground.

in your house.

2

You can not choose your energy distribution companies. Each area has

only 1

gas distribution company.

electricity distribution company.

Usually you do not talk to your energy distribution company. You call

them only if there is an emergency. For example,

a gas leak.

a blackout. This is when you have no

electricity.

How to find your energy distribution company

1. Look at your bill.

2. Look for the words faults or emergencies.

3. You will find the energy distribution company name and phone

number next to the word faults or the word emergencies.

Energy retailers.

You pay your bills to your energy retailer.

You pay your electricity bills to your electricity retailer.

3

You pay your gas bills to your gas retailer.

Look at the logo at the top of your bill.

The logo has the name of your energy retailer.

There are about many energy retailers in Victoria. There is a list on

pages 39 to 41.

You can choose your energy retailer.

Most energy retailers sell both

electricity.

and

gas.

You can buy electricity and gas from the same retailer

Or from 2 different retailers.

You might talk to your energy retailer when

you move house. For example, to get

electricity or gas.

switched off at your old house.

switched on at your new house.

4

You might talk to your energy retailer about

your bills.

your energy plan. For example,

- how much you pay.

- discounts on your bill.

problems. For example, your bill is

wrong.

Task.

Look at your electricity bill.

Write down the name of your electricity distribution company.

Write down the name of your electricity retailer.

Look at your gas bill.

Write down the name of your gas distribution company.

Write down the name of your gas retailer.

How to read energy bills.

You should always read your energy bills carefully.

5

You should check the information is right.

Every energy bill must have information about

1. the account.

2. the price of the energy.

3. how much energy you used.

4. how to pay.

The law says your bill must have this information.

1. Account information.

Your energy bill will have

the name of the person who has the

account. This is probably your name.

the address where you use the energy.

the account number.

2. Price

Your energy bill will have the price of the energy.

You made a contract when you joined your energy retailer. You might

have made the contract on the phone. The energy retailer should have

told you

the price of the energy.

the start and finish date of the contract.

6

other fees.

Your bill might say tariff, charge or rate.

Tariff, charge and rate all mean price.

Most bills have

a daily supply charge.

and

usage charges.

Daily supply charge

You pay this money each day to get energy

at your house. The daily supply charge is sometimes called service to

property charge.

Usage charges

You pay this money for the electricity or gas you use.

Electricity charges

The usage charge for electricity will say cents per kilowatt hour or

c/kWh.

7

For example, 29 cents per kilowatt hour might

be written as $0.29/kWh or 29.01 cents/kWh.

Gas charges

The usage charge for gas will say cents per megajoule or c/MJ.

For example, 31 cents per megajoule might

be written as $0.31/MJ or 31.26 cents/MJ

Important.

Your plan might have more than 1

usage charge. For example, you might have off-peak and peak.

You can read about off-peak and peak charges in the booklet called

Flexible Electricity Pricing.

8

You can get this booklet online at

www.energyinfohub.org.au

3. How much energy you used

Your energy bill will have information about how much electricity or gas

you used.

The bill shows how much energy you used in the period covered by the

bill.

The period covered by the bill is the time from one bill to the next bill. It

might look like 28 Jul 2014 to 21 Sept 2014 (56 days) days billed:

56

Some bills will have a graph to show you how much energy you used.

For example,

this month and last month.

this month this year and the same

month last year.

9

http://www.energyinfohub.org.au/

The energy distribution company must find out how much gas or

electricity you used.

The energy distribution company will read the meter. There are two

different ways to read the meter.

1. Someone from the energy distribution company might

go to your house.

and

read the meter.

or

2. Your smart meter will send the information wirelessly to your energy

distribution company. You can read about smart meters in the booklet

Smart meters, energy web portals and in-home displays.

Sometimes the energy distribution company does not read the meter.

The energy retailer has to make an estimate. This means the energy

retailer will guess how much energy you used.

To make an estimate, the energy retailer

10

looks at your old bills to see how much

energy you usually use.

makes the new bill about the same as

the old bills.

Your bill might have Estimate or E next to the usage charge. Always

check to see what your bill says.

You might get many bills that have a usage charge estimate.

Later the energy distribution company will read the meter. They must

read the meter at least once a year.

The energy retailer might charge you more money

Or give you money back. They will not give you

cash. They give you credit on your next bill. Read about credit on page

23.

The bill might have Actual or A next to the usage charge. This means

it is not a guess. It is the real or actual usage charge.

11

Sometimes the bill with the actual usage charge can be very big.

12

Example

Bob gets electricity from GX Power.

GX Power read the meter in May 2014.

Bob used 9.1 kWh per day of electricity.

Bob’s bill said A 9.1 kWh per day.

GX Power did not read the meter in July 2014.

GX Power made an estimate for the July 2014 bill.

GX Power knows last year Bob used about 9 kWh per day of

electricity.

GX Power sent a bill to Bob.

The bill said E 9 kWh per day.

The E shows it is an estimate.

In September 2014 GX Power

went to Bob’s house.

read the meter.

sent a new bill.

13

The new bill said A 9.3 kWh per day.

Bob had to pay more.

What if your bill is very high?

A high bill means an expensive bill.

If your bill is very high

talk to your energy retailer.

say I want you to review my bill.

The energy retailer will review the bill.

This means they will check the bill again.

You will have to pay part of the bill while you wait for the review. You will

have to pay about the same as your normal bill.

Later

you might have to pay more.

or

you might get money back. This means

you will get credit on your next bill.

14

Read about credit on page 23.

4. How to pay

Energy bills have a lot of information about how to pay. For example,

how much to pay.

the due date. You must pay before the

due date.

money you owe. This is money you still

need to pay. For example, you did not pay your last bill. You still owe

money for your last bill.

money in credit. This is extra money.

For example, you paid too much on your last bill. You will have credit on

this bill. This bill will be cheaper.

different ways to pay the bill. For

example, BPAY credit card.

government concessions. A concession

is a discount. Read about concessions on pages 25 to 31.

how to contact the energy retailer.

how to get an interpreter. You might

need an interpreter if you speak a different language.

15

Energy concessions

Do you have a concession card?

For example,

a Centrelink Health Care Card

a Pensioner Concession Card

a Veteran’s Affairs Gold Card.

You can get a concession on your energy bills. This means you pay

less.

The government pays part of your bill.

This makes it cheaper for you.

You must give your concession card details to your energy retailer.

Important

The name must be exactly the same on your

concession card.

and

energy bills.

16

The address must be exactly the same on your

Centrelink letters.

and

energy bills.

You will not get the concession if

the name is not exactly the same.

or

the address is not exactly the same.

Your information might change.

You might get a new concession card.

You must

call your energy retailer.

say My concession card details have

changed.

What if

you have a concession card.

but

17

you are not getting a discount on your

bill?

You must


give your concession card details.

Important

If you have a concession card, your retailer must give you a discount.

More concessions

There are other concessions. For example,

Annual Electricity Concession.

Service to Property Charge Concession.

Electricity Transfer Fee Waiver.

Controlled Load Concession.

Life Support Concession.

Medical Cooling Concession.

Non-Mains Energy Concession.

Excess Energy Concession.

18

How to check if you can get these concessions

You can check online.

Go to

www.dhs.vic.gov.au/concessions

Answer the questions.

You might need help to use this website.

You can call the Department of Health and Human Services

Concessions Information Line.

1800 658 521

You can call your energy retailer.

How to get a concession on your bills.

You must


give your concession card details.

19

http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/concessions

You might need to

fill in a form.

post the form.

You can ask someone to help you.

For example,

a friend.

someone in your family.

a support worker.

Your friend, family member or support worker can read the booklet called

Understanding Energy Basics - A Guide for Community Workers.

This booklet has more information about concessions.



20


You can not pay your bill

Sometimes people

have money problems.

and

can not pay their energy bills.

Your energy retailer can help

If you can not pay your bill


say I can not pay my bill. Can you

help me?

Your energy retailer will help you. For example, your energy retailer

might

give you more time to pay.

let you pay small amounts.

help you in another way.

The law says your energy retailer must help you.

The government can help you.

21

Sometimes the government can help people with money problems. The

government might give your energy retailer some money to

help you.

The government can help if you have a

big problem. For example,

you lose your job.

or

you have to pay for something

expensive, like hospital bills.

To get help from the government


ask about the Utility Relief Grant

Scheme. This is also called URGS.

You can ask someone to help you.

For example,

a friend.

a family member.

a support worker.

22


Understanding Energy Basics - A Guide for Community Workers.

This booklet has more information about the Utility Relief Grant Scheme.



Disconnection

Has your gas or electricity been disconnected?

This means

you can not get electricity or gas.

there is no power.

there are no lights.

you can not cook.

your fridge is off.

Did you get a letter that says Your gas or electricity will

be disconnected?

23


You need to talk to your energy retailer. If you need help to do this, ask

a friend.

a family member.

a support worker.

Problems with your energy retailer

You might have a problem with your energy retailer.

You should


explain the problem.

ask your energy retailer to fix the

problem.

You should write down

the date you call.

the time you call.

the name of the person you talk to.

If the energy retailer does not fix the problem, you can ask the Energy

and Water Ombudsman for help.

Call 1800 500 509.

This is a free service.

24

You can choose. You can change.

In Victoria, you can choose your energy retailer.

Different energy retailers have different plans. You can find the best plan

for you. You can save money.

There are 2 government websites to help you choose the best energy

retailer. One website is for electricity. One website is for gas.

You might find a

better energy plan.

or

cheaper energy plan.

To look at electricity plans

Go to the My Power Planner website

mpp.switchon.vic.gov.au

To look at gas plans

Go to the Your Choice website

yourchoice.vic.gov.au

26

http://yourchoice.vic.gov.au/

https://mpp.switchon.vic.gov.au/

For step by step instructions on how to use

the My Power Planner website.

and

the Your Choice website read the

booklet called Compare Energy Plans Online.



You might want to change to a different energy retailer. This might be

hard. You can ask for help. Talk to

a friend.

a family member.

a support worker.


Saving money by choosing a better energy deal: A guide for

community workers.

or

27

Flexible pricing and your clients.

You can get these booklets online at


Save energy and save money

There are lots of ways to save energy.

Read the booklet called Save Energy and Save Money



There is a lot of information onthe EnergyInfoHub website.

You might need help to find what you want.

Energy retailer phone numbers

AGL

13 12 45

Alinta

13 37 02

28


Blue NRG

1300 599 888

Click Energy

1800 775 929

Diamond Energy

1300 838 009

Dodo Power and Gas

13 36 36

Energy Australia

13 34 66

Lumo Energy

1300 115 866

Momentum Energy

1300 662 778

29

Neighbourhood Energy

1300 764 860

30

Origin Energy

13 24 63

Pacific Hydro

1800 010 648

People Energy

1300 788 970

Power Direct

1300 307 966

Power shop

1800 462 668

Red Energy

13 18 06

Simply Energy

13 88 08

Energy distribution company phone numbers

31

Each company has 2 phone numbers

faults.

enquiries.

Call the faults number if there is an emergency. For example,

a gas leak.

a blackout. This is when you have no

electricity.

Call the enquiries number if you want to ask a question.

Citipower (electricity)

Faults 13 12 80

Enquiries 1300 301 101

Jemena

Faults 13 16 26


Powercor (electricity)

Faults 13 24 12

32

Enquiries 13 22 06

AusNet Services (electricity)

Faults 13 17 99


AusNet Services (gas)

Faults 13 67 07


United Energy (electricity)

Faults 13 20 99


Multinet Gas (gas)

Faults 13 26 91


Australian Gas Networks (operated by

APA Networks)

Faults 1800 676 300

Enquiries (03) 9463 8222

33

Other phone numbers

Consumer Affairs Victoria

Call 1300 558 181

Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria)

Call 1800 500 509

Victorian Government

Department of Health and Human Services Concessions

Information Line

Call for information about energy concessions or discounts

1800 658 521

Money help (free over-the-phone

financial counselling)

Call 1800 007 007

34

Scope’s Communication and Inclusion Resource Centre

wrote the Easy English. April 2015 www.scopevic.org.au

To see the original contact the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre


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