Electricity: It keeps on the lights, powers our fridges, and allows the lonely ones among us to fall in love with the sultry twirls of our Roombas. Trust me, anything can happen during the long December nights. Anything.
However, electricity is currently super expensive. This year, around 25% of our coal power plants have been offline thanks to being repaired and undergoing some unplanned maintenance. These switch-offs have created a massive chasm between what Australia’s coal power plants can produce and Australia’s energy needs.
This gap is being filled by super expensive gas. Hence, all of our power bills have been more painful than usual.
What’s more, the price of electricity is predicted to go up another 20% this financial year and is expected to jump up a further 36% in the year after that.
Now, the Federal Government has put a year-long cap on gas prices. As of right now, the price of gas cannot go above $12 per gigajoule. Nevertheless, paying the power bills will still be difficult for some families.
Ergo, if we want to keep both our Roombas and wallets happy, we have to save our dollars somewhere. This brings us to our state and territory’s energy rebate schemes. Yup, most of our states and territories provide some partial power refunds just so we can keep our ovens cooking.
But what are these schemes? Whelp, don’t fret, let’s slam into the answers right now:
NSW Energy Rebates
The NSW Government is currently offering:
- Low Income Household Rebates for people with eligible concession cards.
- Gas Rebates for people with eligible concession cards.
- Family Energy Rebates for fams that have dependent children and receive Family Tax Benefit payments.
- Life Support Rebates for people who need to use life-saving energy-intensive equipment at home.
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concessions for certain people with chronic medical conditions that are negatively impacted by changes in temperature.
But that’s not all NSW has on the table. Thanks to its Energy Saver Scheme, you can also upgrade your traditional hot water system to an energy one for a minimum of $33.00. This program is quite a steal, as energy-efficient hot water systems can be upwards of $2500.
Moreover, you can also use NSW’s Energy Saver Scheme to upgrade your home from using old light bulbs to using LED lights.
Queensland Energy Rebates
The Queensland Government is currently offering:
- Reticulated Natural Gas Rebates of $80.77 per year for people with certain concession cards.
- Electricity Rebates of $372.20 per year for people with certain concession cards.
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concessions of $372.21 per year.
Victoria Energy Rebates
The Victorian Government is currently offering:
- A heating and cooling system rebate for certain low-income households of up to $1000.
- Concessions and grants for people that rely on fires or liquefied petroleum gas to get by.
- To cover 17.5% of some power bills and service costs for certain concession cardholders.
The Victorian Government’s also running a $250 Power Saving Bonus scheme. To get this cash, you have to be the account holder of a residential electricity bill and then supply the Victorian Energy Compare website with your invoice details.
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Tasmania Energy Rebates
The Tasmanian Government is currently offering:
- Electricity rebates for specific Tasmanians of around $1.57 per day.
- A Heating Allowance for certain pensioners of $56 per year.
- Life support concessions for folks that use such machinery or live with someone else who needs this equipment.
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concessions. These rebates are around $0.47 per day.
South Australia Energy Rebates
The South Australian Government is currently offering:
- Electricity rebates of up to $241.63 per year for folks with a low or fixed income.
- Electricity bill discounts of 21%. These discounts are available for Origin Energy customers with a low or fixed income.
- Electricity concessions for people with kidney disease that receive dialysis at home. These patients can receive $165 per year.
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concessions. These rebates are $241.63 per year.
- Water, sewerage, and energy concessions for certain people that live in a residential or caravan park. These rebates are up to $572.73 per year, depending on your circumstances.
Moreover, South Australia is offering certain folks with solar panels money if they’re putting their excess electricity into the power grid. And if this isn’t an incentive to go solar, I have no idea what is.
Northern Territory Energy Rebates
The Northern Territory Government is currently offering:
- Energy rebates for members of the Northern Territory Concession Scheme. These rebates are up to $1200 per year.
- Energy rebates for certain Jacana Energy or Power and Water Corporation customers. These rebates are up to around $1.27 per day. It also maxes out at $1200 per year.
- Energy rebates for specific folks that use prepaid electricity metres. These rebates are up to $1200 per year.
- Energy rebates for certain people that live in caravan parks. These rebates are up to around $1.27 per day.
- Energy rebates for tenants and people not connected to the grid. These rebates are up to around $1.27 per day.
- An additional $154 allowance for individuals with specific medical conditions. To be eligible for this money, you must exceed one of the aforementioned concession caps.
Western Australia Energy Rebates
The Western Australia Government is currently offering:
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concessions.
- Rebates for creating a new electricity account. These rebates are only offered to certain cardholders.
- Energy rebates of up to $310.60 per year for certain Synergy and Horizon Power customers.
- Energy rebates for specific Perth Energy customers, Alinta Sales customers, and the customers of other retailers.
- Its Life Support Equipment Energy Subsidy for certain folks who need to use such equipment at home.
- An air conditioning rebate for certain people living in areas where the heat can get gnarly.
Western Australia’s also running a Hardship Utility Grant Scheme. This program offers specific people money if they’re financially struggling and can’t pay their power bills. Depending on where you live, you could be eligible for a payment of up to $580 per year or up to $960 per year.
ACT Energy Rebates
The ACT Government is currently offering:
- Utility concessions to specific ACT residents. These rebates are $750 per year.
- Rooftop solar system rebates, hot water heat pump rebates, and electric stovetop rebates for certain cardholders. These concessions go up to $5000.
- Loans for folks to buy solar panels and batteries. These loans go up to $15,000 and must be paid back in a ten-year period.
Fireplace replacement rebates for its residents. These rebates are between $250 and $1250, depending on your circumstances.
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