Agents – empower tenants and owners to compare and switch!

As cost-of-living pressures force more Australians to tighten their budgets, tenants and homeowners should check their energy bills and compare prices as often as every three months.

Data from Move Me In shows energy retailers are becoming increasingly competitive as Australians look more closely at their bills and budgets.

Millions of households across Australia are overpaying for energy each year, often by hundreds of dollars. According to theAustralian Competition & Consumer Commission, 42 per cent of flat-rate customers on outdated plans are paying at or above the default market offer – and for plans three years old or more, that rises to 74%. Across all regions, Australian families on the older plans have an average calculated price 10.5% or $221 higher than those on newer plans – a total of $243m a year for the 1.1 million households on flat rate plans three years old or older.

But over the past 12 months Move Me In has seen more competition among electricity and gas retailers compared to previous years, with some retailers making as many as two price updates in a month. Knowing consumers stand to save significantly, MMI provides agents with a tool to compare their bills more often.

A price update can raise bills or lower them, but increased competitiveness has seen more price drops this year than in the past, according to Move Me In.

Summer is traditionally a period with a lot of home moves, which prompts many people to compare prices. But a lot of people don’t realise that changing providers is quite simple at any time, even without moving home.

What’s important to know is that indicative pricing on an energy company’s website is not always the best data for comparison. Your rate always depends on the type of electricity meter at your home and the plan you’re on with your retailer.

With the increase in deals we’re seeing, Move Me In strongly encourages tenants and owners to check with energy providers or use an unbiased price comparison tool every few months to see if there are better deals that suit their energy use.

A comparison on MMI’s website of energy prices for a family in a four-bedroom house with average energy consumption can vary by more than $400 per year. Taken along with other savings, this can make a crucial difference to households on a tight budget.

You can help home movers overcome cost pressures. Compare now to see where you can help!