Origin Energy switching to monthly instead of quarterly bills in Victoria
To help people manage their household budget better and prevent the likelihood of quarterly bill shock, Origin Energy has announced it is switching eligible electricity accounts from quarterly to monthly billing cycles in Victoria.
Origin Energy spokesman Ryan Auger said the company started notifying eligible Victorian smart meter customers of its plans to move them to monthly billing, inviting them to select a preferred monthly payment date, or opt out if they prefer to remain on quarterly billing.
According to Mozo’s electricity comparison tool, the average quarterly bill for a 3 person household on the Origin Energy Maximiser plan in Melbourne is $307. As per Origin’s new monthly plan, the customer will receive a bill of about $76 every month instead of being hit by a larger bill at the end of four months.
The move to monthly billing comes a month after Origin Energy introduced a $1.75 fee for posted paper bills. Any Customer who stays with paper bills on a monthly account, will have the fee waived for three months.
The change to monthly billing however, is just for electricity accounts and not gas, which will continue on a quarterly basis.
How is this different from Origin Energy’s Predictable Plan?
According to our understanding, the new monthly billing cycle will not be based on estimated but actual usage recorded from a linked smart meter.
The Predictable Plan on the other hand, lets you pay a fixed amount for your electricity consumption for a period of 12 months no matter how much energy you use. To calculate this fixed amount, the provider uses data from three months of billed usage at your current address and information provided by you about how you use energy at home. You can then opt for monthly or fortnightly bills. Click here to know more about the advantages and disadvantages of the Predictable Plan.
