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Malcolm Turnbull told electricity company chiefs during a meeting on 9 August that millions of Australians were paying too much for their power, ABC News online reported.
The government has blamed the electricity retailers for the lack of transparency and difficulty the consumers face while switching providers.
As agreed in the meeting AGL Electricity, Momentum Energy, Simply Energy, Energy Australia, Origin Energy, Snowy Hydro and Alinta Energy would tell customers on expired discount plans what other deals were available.
According to the ABC it has been estimated households could save $1000 or more a year by switching companies or $400 just by getting a better deal from their existing supplier.
Only a few companies offer their customers a range of deals and discounts when they sign up to their service. Even those companies, after a certain period, move the customers onto more expensive plans, often without informing. Moreover, most suppliers revise electricity prices every 6 months. We are not singling out AGL Electricity, the same could be said regarding each of the others.
The energy companies agreed to following terms at the end of the meeting;
A closer look at above points reveals how little the changes would help the consumers. Will they have the time, energy, skills and patience to compare all the available providers, plans, rates and discounts? Energy Umpire, being an independent comparison service, can help you be on the best plan, saving you money on electricity and gas, all the time, around the year.