Powershop lends a hand to small businesses with new fund
As life inches its way back to normal, Aussie small businesses around the country are still picking up the pieces.
But thanks to a new campaign by energy retailer, Powershop, small businesses could be a short time away from getting some extra help.
A week ago, Powershop launched its ‘Power It Forward’ campaign to support small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The campaign offers a fund, which is mainly upheld by the Powershop community and contributions. Money from the fund will go directly to Powershop’s small businesses as they get back on their feet.
“We wanted to do something together with our customers, to help those who have been most affected by COVID-19,” said Powershop’s chief executive officer, Jason Stein. “The Power It Forward’ program has been designed to support the community connection between our customers and it’s just one way we can provide some relief for small businesses that are on the road to recovery.”
Powershop aims to raise a total of $250,000 through a combination of both the company’s and customer contributions. Powershop has already chipped in $50,000 to start and promises to dollar match customer contributions to the value of $100,000.
Eligible small businesses will then receive a credit between $100 - $200 for their electricity bills, which according to Powershop is the equivalent of around one month of average power usage.
“One of our guiding values as a business is to support our community and this is something our customers value too,” said Stein.
Other measures to help small businesses
In early April, Energy Networks Australia unveiled the COVID-19 electricity and gas network relief package to assist small businesses customers during the pandemic.
Eligible small businesses consuming less than 400MHw or 400GJ per annum and that use less than 25% of the historical average during this period, will have their network charges rebated.
Some other examples of financial assistance include waiving reconnection and disconnection fees as well as daily supply charges.
“Networks understand these are extraordinarily tough times for small business and energy bill relief will really help [and] will work with energy retailers to ensure the benefits of this package flow through to customers smoothly,” said Energy Networks Australia chief executive Andrew Dillon.
If you’re a small business owner looking to save on your energy bill, one option might be to switch to a more competitive offer. You can use our handy energy comparison tool to compare current small businesses plans.
