Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Jacana Energy CEO Louisa Kinnear expects Territorians with very old power meters could notice a jump in their bills following the installation of new smart meters

Transcript

Jacana Energy CEO Louisa Kinnear expects Territorians with very old power meters could notice a jump in their bills following the installation of new smart meters · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As we know, Power and Water have been rolling out
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: new electronic power meters across the territory, replacing the old
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: mechanical ones, and they'd explained to us last week. I
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: believe it was that over time the device do start
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: to become less accurate, meaning that a lot of people
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: have noticed an increase in their bills after having the
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: new meter are installed. Now, when number of seniors have
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: contacted the show with concerns about the situation and joining
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: us on the line in the studio, I should say,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: just to explain a little bit more about the billing
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: side of things from Jacana Energy, the CEO, Louisa Kenna,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: good morning to you, Louisa.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Morning Katie. How are you?
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, really good, Thank you so much for your time
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: this morning. Now, Louisa, what impact do you expect the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: new meters are going.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: To have on people's bills?
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so it is actually difficult to tell exactly what
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: the impact will be because every customer is different and
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: every customer uses electricity in a different way. These replacements
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: aren't new, have actually been an ongoing replacement program in
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: place by Power and Water Corporation now for a number
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: of years. The difference that we're saying now is that
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: they're rolling out a larger number of them over a
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: shorter period of time. So it's expected that some people,
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: through either changes in their billing cycle or if they've
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: got a very old meter that may not have been
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: accurately reading their electricity consumption, that they may notice some
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: changes in the THED bill going forward. We wouldn't anticipate
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: that a really large number of customers will be significantly
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: impacted or notice a difference in their bill, but we
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: accept that there'll certainly be some customers, particularly those with
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: quite old meters, that might notice an initial difference in
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: terms of that bill.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: And I'm assuming that some of those suburbs may be
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: sort of more established suburbs that have that have got
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the older meters, and potentially they're the ones that we're
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: hearing from at this point.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: That that's correct. Yeah, absolutely so.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: Obviously, if you're in an older house, you'll generally have
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: an older meter if it hasn't already been replaced, and
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: so they are the ones that are more likely to
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: be less accurate. But that's not always the case, and
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: generally there are only a very few number that actually
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: result in very inaccurate readings.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, So we have had concerns from people saying
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: that their bills have tripled.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Is that to be expected?
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: That wouldn't be a standard situation as a result of
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: a meter replacement. So generally, if a customer feels that
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: they've had an increase of that magnitude, we tend to
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: look at a number of different aspects. So it's not
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: to say that that meta accuracy wasn't an issue, but
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: certainly at this time of year, this is obviously wet season,
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: people are using their air conditioners more, and so what
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: we generally find is that bills are a lot higher
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: this time of year than you might have received towards
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: the end of last year. So if your meet is
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: getting changed out at the moment, it may well be
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: a combination of the fact that you're consuming more electricity
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: and you're thinking about the bill that you paid towards
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: the end of last year, which would have been slightly less,
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: and so it can seem very high. In those situations,
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: we do encourage customers to go back to what their
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: bill might have been a year prior, because that's when
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: you're going to get the best comparison.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, right. If people are really concerned and they feel
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: as though it just doesn't seem right. Can they dispute
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: it or can they contact you guys? What are their options?
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah? Look, absolutely, if people have concerns with the bill
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: that they're receiving, there's a number of different ways they
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: can contact us. So we offer both email service, inquiry service.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: We've got a Facebook messenger people can contact us on,
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: and obviously we have our contact center our call center
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: as well, so people can call us directly.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Is there a fee if they do want somebody to
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: come out and check that meter and see whether it
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: is faulty or whether something's just not quite right.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, if they've got concerns with the meter that we
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: can't address through talking them through their current situation, it's
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: normally very few customers get.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: To that point.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: But if they absolutely want their meta check because they've
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: got concerns with that, they can request a special test
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: and that does require someone to come out and sort
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: of probe the meter in more detail. Then that cost
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: is around three hundred, three hundred and seventy dollars.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: I mean that is expensive.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: If it's a pensioner, let's say, who is keen to
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: have that test done. Are there any special sort of
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: concessions that are made for some of our seniors or
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: those that maybe yeah, are in a situation where they
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: simply can't pay.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, So I think in relation to both,
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: if a customer is experiencing a high bill that they
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: can't pay, for example, there are a number.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Of different ways that we can assist them through that process.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: So we do offer things like payment plans which people
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: can just request and you can pay off your bill
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: over a longer period of time. You may just need
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: an extension and we're absolutely happy to give those in
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: most circumstances.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: So if you're just like a little bit more time
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: to pay the bill.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: I think it's really important to mention as well that,
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: particularly for pensioners and also people who are on either
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: centrally in called veterans affairs benefits, that they may well
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: be eligible for an anti government concession payment that totals
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: up to about twelve hundred dollars a year. That people
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: can receive a subsidy four that actually goes talk directly
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: towards their electricity bill.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: So we do encourage people if they.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: Are not aware of that or they haven't checked with
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: their eligible to actually talk to the anti government about
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: whether they're eligible, and once they're on that scheme, we
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: automatically apply those credits and it does have a significant
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: reduction to customers bills.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Always it can people opt to not have their power
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: meter replaced.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: I would encourage people who've got real concerns with that
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: to obviously talk to Power and Water Corporation and they
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: can address some of those concerns. Look, it can go
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: either way, right, So it's not to say that the meter,
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: once it's replaced, will always then record additional consumption. Sometimes,
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: you know, you may actually find that your bill comes
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: down as a result of the more accurate meta reading.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: I think the other thing just to remind people is
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: smart meters do you have benefits for some types of customers.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: So if you've got a solar system on your roof.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: You will need a smart meter because of the way
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: that it needs to record electricity and to receive the
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: feed in tariff. For example, smart meter does allow customers
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: to move to monthly bills. Most customers at the moment
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: are on a quarterly bill ciphle, which means that the
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: total your total bill amount can be really large. So
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: not everyone likes this, but for those that do want
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: small and more manageable bill payments, we can actually give
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: them the option of billing them monthly, which for a
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: lot of customers, particularly those in hardship.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: It does help. And I think the.
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: Third benefit is that if you've got a meter that's
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: stuck behind a gate, or you've got a dog on
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: your property and a meta reader can't access the meta,
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: then a smart meter can get read remotely, which means
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: that you no longer have the hassle of an estimated
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: bill if the meta reader can't get In.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Louisa, a couple of people have been in contact and asked,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: how are the bills calculated? Right?
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Yes, that something that's easy to explain. Yeah, I will
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: definitely give it a go.
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: So basically what happens is a standard meta read will
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: be taken at either monthly or quarterly, depending on what
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: type of meta you have YEP, and it reads your
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: consumption from date A to date B, and then those
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: consumption records are provided to us by a power and
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: water corporation directly from your meter, and then we then
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: apply basically the government's regulated electricity pricing tariff to that consumption.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: So on your bill you'll see what we call a
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: variable charge, which.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Is around the twenty sixth cents or so per unit.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: So for every kind of unit of electricity that you consume,
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: you'll be charged twenty six cents. And then what you'll
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: also see is there's a fixed daily charge that comes
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: in down the bottom, and that's actually quite low, and
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: that just is basically what you're paying for. There is
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: things like services like your meter, your meter reads and
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: things like that, but the majority of your bill is
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: based on how much you're consuming.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Now just a quick question, Hi, kdie are the
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: call out fee? Is it waived if the electricity meter
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: is found faulty?
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely, that is my understanding.
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: So if for whatever reason the meter is found faulty,
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: then we do you work with power and Water corporation
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: on a case by case basis because it's not very
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: common for them to be found faulty, but absolutely if
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: it is, we then work together with the customer to
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: identify what we need to do to address it.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: So, Luisa, by the sounds of things, if people are
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: concerned and if they are in a situation where they're
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: unable to pay that bill, there are certainly different options
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: for all those customers and the best thing that they
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: can really do is get in contact with Jacana and
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: sort of have a look at the different options that
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: are available to them.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely, I definitely encourage people to go on to
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: our website. You can actually even request things like payment
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: plans and payment extensions via my account or via our website,
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: which is a much more straightforward way to do. Obviously,
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: for those of our customers that don't like to use
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: online or digital channels, they can also give us a
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: call too well.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Jacana Energy CEO Louisa can here. We really appreciate your
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks so much for coming
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: In, no problems, Thanks Katie, Thank you.