Simply Energy Electricity and Gas Deal Review for RACV Members June 2017

 

The analysis below has been updated with the Simply RACV Plus deal which offers 45% off electricity since 26 September 2018.

 

To help compare electricity and gas suppliers we are doing common sense deal reviews to try and decipher the marketing blurb into what it might mean for your actual electricity and gas bills.

Below is one deal review from Simply Energy for RACV members

Headline points of the deal

• $50 online credit (The online part means it doesn’t apply if you call them to sign up and it’s split in half $25 credit for electricity and $25 credit for gas)
• 40% off electricity usage charges – usage charges are not shown, so 40% off what number we don’t know
• 25% off gas charges – again usage charges are not shown, so 25% off what number is unknown.
• You must pay on time to get the discount, if you don’t pay on time I suppose the assumption is the discounts are removed altogether?
• The discount does not apply to supply or other charges.
• 24 month contract or ‘benefit period’ with no exit fees, so the contract is a lock in for them not you?  I’m sure they can change rates mid-contract term if they like, if you do want to leave before the end of 24 months you can free of charge.  So the ‘term’ is a hangover from legal contracts requiring a term, in this context, it seems pretty meaningless.

Example Electricity costs per day with Simply Energy

kWh usage per day	Supply charge in cents per kW	Usage charge in cents per kW	Supply + Usage in cents per kW	Per day cost $	30 day cost $	90 day cost $	40% discount '$ savings' over 90 days
10	12.765	17.464	30.229	3.02	90.69	272.06	104.78
15	8.51	17.464	25.974	3.9	116.88	350.64	157.17
20	6.383	17.464	23.846	4.77	143.08	429.23	209.56
25	5.106	17.464	22.57	5.64	169.27	507.82	261.95

From the advertisements, you are sent to SimplyEnergy.com.au/RACV where you are asked for your name RACV member number before you can proceed (hopefully to find out the actual usage charges) then you are asked for your postcode.

If you are on a ‘flexible pricing tarriff’ then you have to call to get rates, they won’t show the rates online.  Flexible pricing tariff meaning peak, shoulder, and off-peak depending on the time of day when electricity is used.

Then you have to enter your name, email, address, date of birth and answer 4 questions about your address and if you own the property

Next questions are how you would like to pay.

I still haven’t seen the actual price yet!  So I found the Simply Energy compare plans link in the footer of the page – phew!

I get to the base rates which are below.  The base rates also refer to Market Contract Terms and Conditions which is a 33 page booklet.  There is no mention of $ or kWh in the terms and conditions.  You can terminate the contract by giving 20 business days’ notice. However, after the contract ends they will continue to sell you energy on the same terms until you enter into a new contract with them or transfer to another retailer

I don’t think the peak and off peak is very attractive unless you work at night and sleep during the day.

Using the single rate meter rates peak at 29.106c/kWh discounted 40% is 17.464c/kWh plus supply charge of $1.2765 (all inc GST).

Standardising the supply charge across an average 15kW/h per day usage adds  8.51c per kW/h or 25.974c per kWh.