If you are environmentally and socially conscious, you may want to check out Energy Locals’ reviews for your neighbourhood. Energy Locals is an electricity provider serving customers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales, southeastern Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. It promises cheaper, carbon-neutral energy while also promoting the use of solar power.
However, unlike most other energy providers, Energy Locals prices customers’ electricity usage differently. Customers are charged the wholesale electricity rate but have to pay an upfront membership fee to access this rate. If you are comparing Energy Locals plans, you should check the membership fee, in addition to supply and usage charges.
How does Energy Locals price its electricity plans?
The typical electricity bill in Australia comprises four components - the wholesale electricity price, the distribution charges, the retailing costs, and any costs related to environmental schemes. Energy retailers pass on retailing costs to customers to cover their margin as the distribution network controls the other expenses.
Energy Locals offers its customers the wholesale electricity price if they sign up for a paid membership. However, the company promises to credit back the membership fee for the first four months if customers pay their bills on time. Note that this discount isn’t available to Energy Locals customers in Victoria and Tasmania. The membership fee is lower for customers who opt for an online-only electricity plan.
The local plan, which is the only alternative to an online plan, requires customers to pay a higher membership fee for the added convenience of accessing customer support via phone in addition to email and chat. Also, customers choosing the online plan need to set up direct debit payments for their energy bill, while customers on a local plan can pay using their credit cards without incurring any additional fees. Neither of the plans involves a lock-in period, nor do customers need to pay exit fees when choosing to cancel their contract.
Customers who contact Energy Locals and negotiate a plan with the company usually sign a market contract, with terms and rates set by the company. However, they may have moved into a house in an area where Energy Locals offers services, but may not have contacted the company about electricity plans. Such customers are subject to conditions set by a standing contract designed by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). Ideally, customers should compare all available contracts and rate options before signing up for the most suitable contract.
The amount customers pay for your electricity usage can depend on the kind of electricity tariff they’ve signed up for. Energy Locals offers a flat tariff, time-of-use tariff, and controlled load tariff, which are explained below:
- Flat tariff: Also called the Anytime tariff, this is a peak tariff applied to all electricity usage irrespective of the time of use.
- Time-of-use tariff: Depending on the time of the day customers use electricity, they may have to pay a high peak rate, a mid-range shoulder rate, or the lower off-peak rate. For instance, if someone works entirely from home, they can save significantly on their electricity bills by limiting their electricity usage to the off-peak period.
- Controlled Load tariff: Energy Locals customers can pay separately for the electricity used by certain appliances such as water heaters or indoor heated swimming pools by getting an additional electricity meter installed. Like many other retailers, Energy Locals also offers two types of controlled load tariffs of which one is meant for longer daily use appliances. Energy Locals customers buying electricity from the grid have to choose a combination of either Anytime tariff or time-of-use tariff along with one of these controlled load tariffs.
In addition, both Energy Locals electricity plans offer customers a solar feed-in tariff for the excess solar power generated by installing a solar photovoltaic panel on their property and supplied back to the grid. Customers can take advantage of Energy Local’s tie-up with solar battery manufacturers Tesla and Sonnen to store the electricity generated by their solar installation. They can either use the stored solar power for their home or supply it back into the electricity network.
Can I buy solar power from Energy Locals instead of installing solar panels?
Customers who don’t have either the space or the budget for a solar installation can participate in Energy Local’s community energy scheme, offered in partnership with Enosi. This peer-to-peer solar energy trading scheme allows them to buy solar power directly from, for instance, another Energy Locals customer in their neighbourhood. However, customers can only trade solar power in real-time, which prevents them from selling any excess solar power stored in a battery. Also, they can participate in trades with as many as three other people they know.
Alternatively, customers can set either a minimum selling price or a maximum buying price and trade with anyone in the Energy Locals community. Energy Locals also allows customers to opt for a default trading price set by the company when trading solar power. All energy trades are billed along with the electricity purchased from Energy Locals, with the company charging transportation fees and environmental costs from trading customers. This community energy scheme is currently available in the ACT, New South Wales, southeast Queensland, and South Australia.
How can I track and pay for my Energy Locals electricity usage?
If you’ve recently purchased a new house, there’s likely a smart electricity meter installed on your property. Once this meter is hooked up to your Energy Locals electricity connection, you can monitor your electricity use online. Energy Locals says that the data from the smart meter is uploaded to your account every night, and you can view usage on a half-hourly basis throughout the day. You can contact Energy Locals and request them to install a smart meter if you don’t have one installed yet. You can also get separate meters installed for specific appliances that use a high amount of electricity.
While you can conveniently track your electricity usage whenever you like, you’ll have to pay your electricity bills as stipulated in your Energy Locals contract. For instance, if you have signed up for the online-only plan, you’ll have to pay your electricity bill through a direct debit arrangement from your bank account. If you choose to pay using a debit card or credit card, you may be charged an additional fee. You should check your electricity contract or your recent Energy Locals bill to find out when you can expect to receive your next bill.
What happens to my Energy Locals contract when I move houses?
Energy Locals does not charge its customers an exit fee when they cancel their contract or move to another location not serviced by the retailer. However, customers who are moving out should tell the company three business days before their moving date if they live in Victoria and five business days if they live elsewhere.