EnergyAustralia & COVID-19

• Households who are currently receiving the ACT Government Utilities Concession will receive an additional $200 (including GST) one off rebate on their electricity bill.
• Households do not need to apply for the rebate.
• The rebate will be applied to eligible accounts on 31 May 2020. Once applied, the rebate will appear on front page of the bill as: ACT Government Electricity Rebate.

• All residential accounts will receive a $200 (GST exempt) one off rebate on their electricity bill. Please note that this amount includes the $50 Asset Ownership Dividend which was set to be paid on 30 April 2020.
• Households do not need to apply for the rebate.
• The rebate will be applied to eligible accounts on 30 April 2020. Once applied, the rebate will appear on front page of the bill as: Qld Govt Utility Relief Payment.

If you are an embedded network and/or a proprietor of tenants, a residential home park, a multi-unit residential premise or another residential installation, whose residents do not have accounts with EnergyAustralia, then you can claim the QLD Govt Utility Relief Payment by completing and returning the attached form. The completed form should be provided to your normal contact at EnergyAustralia.

Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA)

New South Wales households struggling to pay their energy bills during COVID-19 can now apply for $50 vouchers after the NSW Government added $30 million to its emergency support Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) Scheme. Find out more.

Seniors Energy Rebate

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders in New South Wales are encouraged to apply for the  NSW Government’s Seniors Energy Rebate. To be eligible, applicants must hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) and be the primary account holder named on the electricity bill. Find out more.

Economic Support Payment and the Utility Relief Grant Scheme (URGS)

In March, the Federal Government announced two economic support payments for income support and benefit recipients: an Economic Support payment of $750 for eligible Centrelink payment recipients and concession card holders and a Coronavirus Supplement payment of $550 per fortnight to eligible income support recipients.

For Victorian customers who received the $750 Economic Support payment:

• The payment will not be included when assessing a customer’s reason for applying for URGS
• This includes applicants with and without a concession card
• Income thresholds still apply for non-concession card customers applying for URGS

For Victorian customers receiving the Coronavirus Supplement payment of $550 per fortnight:

• The coronavirus supplement for concession card holders will not impact a customer’s eligibility for URGS, provided they still meet the standard URGS criteria.
• The coronavirus supplement for non-concession card holders will follow the normal eligibility criteria as well as income testing thresholds.

Please visit the DHHS website for more information.

We understand that there will be many customers needing help and flexibility with their energy bills during this time. You can arrange a payment extension or set up an instalment plan to spread out your payments over time.

If you need more time to pay your bill, we can help with a payment extension, you can arrange a payment extension via:

• My Account
• The EnergyAustralia mobile app
• Requesting a payment extension form
• Phone – call us on 133 466 and follow the prompts

If you’d like to set up a payment plan, we have two options.

• Set up a plan to pay your energy accounts in regular, affordable monthly instalments.
• Make payments as you go and make up the difference when you get your bill

Please call us on 133 466 to discuss the option that will suit you best.

We’re more than happy to help every customer in financial stress who reaches out, for example through payment extensions.

Sometimes we all can face really tough times and that’s what our EnergyAssist program is for. We’re here to help customers facing financial hardship - whether it be through payment plans, advice on grant programs or advice on energy usage.

All EnergyAssist customers remain connected to our energy system - we do not disconnect residential customers in financial stress who have reached out for help.

Through our hardship program, EnergyAssist, we can:

• remove your accounts from our standard credit and collection activities – including disconnection and any debt recovery action
• help you apply for government grants or any other assistance schemes that may be available to you
• give you energy-saving tips to help reduce your energy bills
• give you details of a financial counsellor to help manage your finances

Please call us on 133 466 to discuss the option that will suit you best.

As long as you have reached out to us, we do not disconnect residential customers in financial stress. If you feel you will be unable to pay for the next four weeks, please contact us on 133 466 and we’ll be happy to work out what’s best for you.

We’ll ask you basic questions about your financial position and the circumstances relating to your financial difficulties. We’ll also try to work out how much you’re able to pay. The purpose of the questions is to help us tailor a plan that best suits your circumstances.

We’re working hard with all industry stakeholders and the government to create a workable solution for customers and the community. We know that the lights must stay on during this unprecedented, challenging time and understand the importance of supporting our customers and the community.

For more COVID-19 updates, there are many available resources.

The World Health Organization’s official COVID-19 page provides rolling updates and advice on the current status of COVID-19 globally as well as advised actions to keep yourself safe.

To stay up-to-date with the Australian Government’s official recommendations, you can visit the official health.gov COVID-19 dashboard.

Energy Efficient Communities Program 

From 6 July small businesses across Australia can apply for a share in grants under the Government's Energy Efficient Communities Program, to help them as they come out of COVID-19 hibernation.

Up to $20,000 will be available to small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to upgrade equipment to reduce energy consumption, invest in monitoring systems to better manage energy use and conduct energy audits to investigate other opportunities for efficiency.

Up to three grants per electorate will be awarded to eligible small businesses.

Interested small business owners can access the guidelines and application forms at business.gov.au, or by phoning 13 28 46.

Small Business Electricity Rebate

• Small business owners with electricity usage below 100 megawatts per year will be eligible for a $750 (including GST) one off rebate on their electricity bill. This rebate is applied once per business.
• Businesses do not need to apply for the rebate.
• The rebate will be applied to eligible accounts on 31 May 2020. Once applied, the rebate will appear on front page of the bill as: ACT Government Electricity Rebate.

Extending the Small Business Electricity Rebate to non-licensed sporting and community clubs.

The ACT Government has extended the $750 (including GST) small business electricity rebate to ACT non-licensed sporting and community clubs. This one-off $750 (including GST) rebate will be applied as a credit to electricity accounts for the first half of the 2020-21 financial year.

The rebate applies to electricity small business customers (i.e. with less than 100 megawatt hours per year).

To be eligible for the rebate:

• The business must be an active sporting or community-based club without a liquor licence.
• The applicant must have an electricity account in their name.
• The rebate will be applied per business (and not per account or site).
• The business must have been an EnergyAustralia customer from early April 2020, when the small business rebate was originally implemented.

How to apply

The ACT Government will determine eligibility for this rebate. Apply for the rebate at the Access Canberra website.

The following information is required:

• Business details such as name, address, phone number, email address
• Australian Business Number (ABN)/ Australian Company Number (ACN)
• Description of business and service it provides
• Business registration number
• Contact person name, phone number and email address
• Name of electricity retailer
• Electricity account number
• Electricity account name
• Copy of an electricity bill, including April 2020 or a recent electricity bill.

Applications must be submitted by 31 December 2020. For any other enquiries, email covid19electricityrebate@act.gov.au

Cafes and Restaurants Rebate

The ACT Government has announced that cafes, restaurants and takeaways can receive a one-off $1000 (including GST) rebate on their electricity bills. Applications for the rebate close on 30 June 2021. 

How to apply

• Eligible businesses are required to apply for this rebate via the Access Canberra website.
• For more information regarding this rebate see the ACT Government website.
• Once the ACT Government has approved your application, they will notify EnergyAustralia.
• Applications for this rebate cannot be made via EnergyAustralia.

• Small business owners with electricity usage below 100 megawatts per year will be eligible for a $500 (GST exempt) one off rebate on their electricity bill.
• Businesses do not need to apply for the rebate.
• The rebate will be applied to eligible accounts on 30 April 2020. Once applied, the rebate will appear on front page of the bill as: Qld Govt Utility Relief Payment.

If you are an embedded network and/or a proprietor of tenants, a residential home park, a multi-unit residential premise or another residential installation, whose residents do not have accounts with EnergyAustralia, then you can claim the QLD Govt Utility Relief Payment by completing and returning one of the attached forms. The completed form should be provided to your normal contact at EnergyAustralia.