Victorian Energy Compare has upgraded its website to help residents save money on their power bills without having to reveal any personal information online.
The Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio said more than 2.7 million Victorians had already used Victorian Energy Compare to find a better deal on electricity, gas and solar.
“The free and independent tool is now accessing electricity usage data, which means it takes less than a minute to compare offers and find the best available,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“On average, Victorians who use Victorian Energy Compare save $330 in their first year alone, with seven out of 10 customers finding a better deal by switching retailers,” she said.
“Previously, customers were required to manually enter details from their smart meter or power bill but the upgraded tool can now access this data thanks to a partnership with the Australian Energy Market Operator.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said the data included the customer’s postcode, current retailer and their National Metering Identifier but didn’t contain any personally identifiable information.
She said privacy and security were central in developing the tool, with customers able to choose whether to share their smart meter data or instead use an energy questionnaire to estimate their energy consumption.
