Globird Energy energy

GloBird is a small, budget-friendly energy retailer giving stiff competition to Australia’s larger, more established energy providers. GloBird began powering homes in Victoria in 2014 and has since expanded into the New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia markets. Its founder John McCluskey built the company by focussing on keeping prices low and customer satisfaction high. He also aims to increase competition between energy retailers in Australia. 

Over the years, GloBird has won several awards for its low prices and highly reviewed customer service. If you’re looking to shave off some dollars on your energy bill, get to know GloBird Energy before deciding to make the switch.

What GloBird Energy plans can offer you

Like most energy retailers, GloBird offers both electricity and gas energy plans. It also has plans which bundle electricity and gas, allowing you to save even more without worrying about managing different plans or energy retailers. GloBird prides itself on being Australian owned and based, including keeping its customer service operations in Australia. Many customer reviews are spruiking their positive experiences when interacting with GloBird’s customer service representatives.

GloBird doesn’t have lock-in contracts, giving customers the freedom to begin or end their GloBird account at any time. It’s easy to estimate your possible savings on the GloBird website by getting a quote without entering any contact details; just enter your address. Alternatively, you can send GloBird your current electricity bill. They can analyse your usage and suggest a plan which could suit your energy needs.

What does GloBird offer for residential energy customers?

GloBird offers both electricity and gas for residential customers with a range of plans that are either electricity only, gas only or a combo of both. Its most popular plans include the EasySave, GloSave, IdeaSave or Combo plans.

EasySave

EasySave is available in New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland and is often the cheapest residential electricity or gas plan. Unlike some of GloBird’s other plans, EasySave discounts are unconditional. This means that the discounts you receive are not dependent on paying the bill on time, like most other energy retailers. The plan also offers the lowest base rates, which makes it the cheapest of GloBird’s plans.  The plan does come with some conditions that may not be suitable for all customers. These include email only billing and communication, and you have to pay your bill by direct debit, which you’ll set up when you sign up.

GloSave

GloSave is a plan that is tailored to small to medium families. When you sign up for a GloSave plan, you’re charged monthly and can receive a conditional discount for paying on time with direct debit. This discount is dependent on where you live. Victorians can receive a discount of 1 per cent. In contrast, customers in NSW, South Australia and QLD can get a discount of 8 per cent.

IdeaSave

IdeaSave is a great plan for families interested in being members of the Small Ideas’ membership club. Small Ideas is a club offering families exclusive discounts on kid-friendly trips or activities like trips to animal farms, play centres, and many more. When customers sign up for an IdeaSave energy plan, they’re charged a yearly membership fee for Small Ideas, which GloBird will credit part of this on a future bill making the cost of membership almost free. After signing up for IdeaSave the customers can access the Small Ideas discounts within about a week. In addition to this membership, IdeaSave customers can also get a 1 per cent conditional discount, but IdeaSave is currently only available to Victorians.

Combo plans

Combo plans allow customers to combine their electricity and gas plans into a single plan and are a great way to save more. GloBird Energy’s combo plans offer customers amazing discounts when you combine electricity and gas. In Victoria, you can get an additional 3 per cent discount if you pay your bill on time via direct debit. Without direct debit, you can still get a discount of 2 per cent by paying your bill on time. For the rest of Australia, where GloBird operates, you can get an 8 per cent discount on your usage and supply charges when you pay your bill on time via direct debit and combine electricity and gas. If you pay your bill on time without direct debit, you will get a discount of 7 per cent with a Combo plan.

Does GloBird have energy plans for businesses?

GloBird does offer a small number of plans for businesses at the moment. It only has one electricity plan, the BizVicSave, for businesses in Victoria. It plans to have electricity plans for businesses in other regions in the future. They currently don’t have any gas plans for businesses. If you’re interested in business electricity plans, it would be best to contact GloBird representatives directly to discuss your needs and find out more. 

So how much can you really save by choosing GloBird?

The best way to find out how much you’re likely to save is using your current bill and usage to get a quote from GloBird. Using your current usage, you can get a clear idea of how much you can save if you switch. We can also make some estimates based on the typical usage and reference prices in the different regions.

In Victoria, IdeaSave is between 21 and 22 per cent less expensive than the Victorian Default Offer (VDO). In South Australia, EasySave is approximately 23 per cent cheaper than the reference price set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). EasySave is a whooping 29 per cheaper than the AER reference price in New South Wales and Queensland.

Paying your GloBird Energy bill

Each of your GloBird Energy bills will have a full list of payment options. GloBird offers discounts to encourage customers to pay using direct debit and pay your bill on time. If you want to set up a direct debit, you can do this from a bank account or credit card when signing up for your GloBird Energy account. Some plans require customers to set direct debits only from a credit card, so make sure to check your plan.

There is a range of other options available for paying your energy bill. You can choose to pay over the phone by calling 1300 456 729,  sending a cheque to GloBird Energy, or online using the GloBird payment gateway. If you prefer to pay in person, you can do this at any Australia Post Office, but over the counter charges may apply.

Benefits and concessions on your energy bill

You may be eligible to receive concessions from GloBird Energy if you are on a low income, Centrelink benefits or other health benefits. 

In Victoria, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) offers concessions to select cardholders to help low-income residents. You may be eligible if you hold a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC), Health Care Card (HCC) issued by Centrelink, or a Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card. In addition, some concessions may be offered if you have life support or medical cooling needs.

In New South Wales, you may be eligible for concessions if you have a diagnosis that you cannot regulate your body temperature. To be eligible, you must hold either the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card, Centrelink Health Care Card, Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card (for recipients of War Widow or War Widower, Totally and Permanently Incapacitated rate or Extreme Disablement Adjustment rate pensions).

South Australia and Queensland also have similar concessions for eligible customers. To know which concessions you might qualify for, it’s best to contact GloBird and discuss your case with them.

You can see the full list of customers who are eligible for a concession with GloBird Energy here or can call them to discuss your circumstances.

GloBird Energy reviews and awards

Despite not being in Australia’s energy market for long, GloBird Energy has earned multiple awards and superb customer service reviews. If you look up GloBird Energy reviews, you will see glowing feedback from GloBird Energy customers. You’ll even find those customers that have had issues praising GloBird Energy for how it was handled. 

GloBird has a dedicated section on their website where customers can give their feedback. They obviously love to hear from customers to help them make the service better.

Is GloBird Energy the right choice for you?

There is no way to know if GloBird Energy is the right choice for your energy needs. But GloBird is certainly a very competitive player in the energy market and has a range of energy plans that may help you save money.

To properly understand if they are the right energy provider for you, get a quote from GloBird Energy and compare it to your existing plan. You can then see what savings you may make by switching. Make sure to do your research on each of the plans on offer by GloBird Energy in your area to make sure you’re choosing the right plan for you.