PowerResponse

In times of high demand (for example, extreme heat) or emergencies, power supply reserves in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) sometimes reach critically low levels. Demand Response rewards customers who choose to reduce their power consumption, switch to backup generation or dispatch their energy storage for short periods when electricity reserves are predicted to reach these critically low levels.

The simple idea behind demand response is that rather than pay to increase how much capacity is available in the electricity grid (such as upgrading transmission networks) for these rare instances when the grid is under pressure, we encourage customers to reduce the amount of electricity they use during times of need and reward them for the changes they make. Reducing demand at peak times, will also assist in the ability to transition more generation to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

PowerResponse is available for all EnergyAustralia electricity customers who have a smart meter and do not have anyone in their household dependent on life support equipment. If you are eligible, we will automatically enroll you in the program and you will receive an email detailing everything you need to know about PowerResponse including how to opt out of events or un-subscribe from the program.

As a participant you will not only help maintain a stable energy supply for everyone, you can also receive rewards in the form of electricity bill credits for changing your energy consumption behaviour for short periods of time.

Eligible participants are only able to participate in one Demand Response program per property, unless EnergyAustralia has provided prior written consent. This applies to any Demand Response Program offered by EnergyAustralia or a third party for the duration of a contract (where applicable).

At this stage, you can only participate with one property.

If you change retailers for your electricity supply, you will no longer be eligible to participate in EnergyAustralia’s PowerResponse program and you will be automatically removed.

There are no fees for exiting PowerResponse and you can un-subscribe from PowerResponse at any time through MyAccount or by calling 1800 089 629.

Remember that participation in events is your choice, every time. You can choose how you respond to our event notifications and whether your household participates, so you remain fully in control. You do not need to exit the program to avoid an event.

We will send an SMS to the mobile number you have listed on your account when we know of an event. Event durations and notice of events may vary, so we will notify you of the commencement and conclusion of an event via SMS. You can always choose whether you participate in an event or not, so if it’s not convenient for you, that’s ok.

Events are likely to be between 1 and 4 hours in duration.

PowerResponse events will only ever be held between 10am – 10pm on weekdays.

You don’t need to be at home to participate. The objective of PowerResponse is to reduce electricity usage compared to what you would normally use at that time. So, if you are out and not consuming as much power as you would if you were home, you are still contributing to the program objective.

There isn’t a planned number of events. This is because events can be triggered by unplanned occurrences like extreme weather.

There’s a number of things you can do to reduce your energy usage during an event. The trick is to delay what you can, if it is something you would usually do at that time, like a load of washing or running the dishwasher. Maybe play a game and turn the TV off? The best way to reduce your energy is to pre-heat or pre-cool your home before the event and adjust the temperature to a few degrees below (heating)/above (cooling) what you would normally have it at. If you have a pool pump, you could turn it off during the event.

Suggestions of how you can reduce your electricity consumption during an event can be found on our website.

Please remember that safety is never negotiable - if turning off certain appliances would be harmful to you or anyone in your household, you should not do so during an event.

Please consider this when participating in an event.

No, you do not have to turn your air conditioner off during an event. Adjusting it by a few degrees compared to what you would normally have it at, will have an impact on your usage. Of course, the less you use it, the more your reward will be. Or, if you pre-cool your house before the event and can turn the air conditioner off, even for part of the event, you will be able to contribute even more, which may increase your reward.

You can access your event performance through MyAccount within a few days of an event and any rewards you have earned during an event will be credited to your EnergyAustralia account within 20 business days of an event.

You will be notified by SMS if an event has been cancelled.

If an event is rescheduled, you will receive an SMS with the new time for the event.

Event duration: Event durations may vary and we will let you know of any changes via SMS.

No, turning off the main switch de-energises the whole house.

This is an extreme response that EnergyAustralia does not encourage.

It means that fridges and, in some cases, medical devices attached to the mains will cease to operate. EnergyAustralia may remove participants who engage in this activity from the PowerResponse program.

Your personal safety is a paramount consideration for EnergyAustralia. You have the freedom to choose to participate in any PowerResponse event or not. If anyone in your household relies on electrical appliances or equipment for health and safety reasons and if switching off these appliances could have an adverse effect on the health and safety of anyone in your household then we advise you to opt-out of PowerResponse events.

You can opt out of an event by clicking the opt out link provided in an event invitation SMS.

You can unsubscribe from PowerResponse at any time through logging into MyAccount or contacting us on 1800 089 629. Once unsubscribed, you will no longer receive any communication relating to our PowerResponse program or events. Un-subscribing from PowerResponse usually takes 24 hours.

Rewards will be provided to EnergyAustralia customers who reduce their usage whilst participating in a PowerResponse event. Please refer to your Terms and Conditions for details.

All credits that you earn through the program will be applied to your electricity account that is registered for PowerResponse within 20 business days of being eligible for the credit. They will appear on your bill as PowerResponse, with the date and the credit amount.

By choosing to participate, you will earn $1 for reducing your usage by any amount, plus $2 for every kWh you reduce thereafter, during the specified event window.

At the end of the event period we look at the difference between your net usage and your baseline to work out your reward. In the case of solar, if your baseline is negative, to receive a reward your net usage will need to be below your negative baseline. This means that you have made changes to your usage for the event and have exported more energy back to the grid.

You also receive the feed-in tariff in the relevant section of your bill – separate to your event reward payments.

If you have an energy storage system, you may consider switching to our Virtual Power Plant Program. As part of this program, during an event instead of being asked to make changes to your household’s usage, EnergyAustralia will access the energy in your storage system and send it straight to the grid for you. You then receive a fixed reward regardless of how much energy is stored in your battery at the time.

To sign up to the latest Virtual Power Plant Program – please call 1800 089 629.

Before an event is held, a baseline or expected usage amount is calculated, this is done by looking at your average electricity usage for the last 10 business days. We then take a 3-hour period on the morning of the event and adjust your baseline to account for event day usage. We utilise the CAISO10 baseline calculation methodology, detailed information about how your baseline usage is calculated can be found here.

PowerResponse rewards are not transferable or redeemable for cash.

If you think you have been credited an incorrect amount, please contact us via the help center on 1800 089 629.

Your participation in PowerResponse will not be impacted by changing your EnergyAustralia electricity plan.

However, if you change electricity suppliers then you will be removed from the PowerResponse program. Please refer to your PowerResponse terms and conditions.

If you move home and remain an EnergyAustralia electricity customer, have a smart meter at your new address and no one at your new premises is dependent on life support equipment, you will be automatically re-enrolled in PowerResponse. You will also need to have an active email address and mobile number registered on your electricity account to qualify for PowerResponse at your new address. You can unsubscribe from PowerResponse at any time via MyAccount or by calling us on 1800 089 629.

If you change retailers for your electricity supply, you will no longer be eligible to participate in EnergyAustralia’s PowerResponse program and you will be automatically removed.