I totally feel your frustration – energy bills are a nightmare lately! Some of the things that have helped us bring down costs include timing our appliance use, like running the dishwasher and washing machine during off-peak hours (if your provider offers that). We also switched to LED lights everywhere and added door stoppers to block drafts, which made a difference in winter. If you’ve got ceiling fans, they’re cheaper to run than air con, and even in winter, they help keep rooms warm if you set them to spin clockwise. Every little bit seems to count these days, especially with prices being what they are!

My bill comes every 3 months and I have been paying about $280 to $300 a quarter but now my partner has moved in so I am using more power so I figure my bills will change but for the moment I have a credit thanks to the government of Queensland

We are in SA as well. We made some quick and easy changes and have seen results in a reduced bill. Check your account and see when the peak rate during the day is. It should be stated at the top of your account. Ours was the lowest from 10am – 3pm so that is when we now run the dishwasher and washing machine – it was exactly half the rate during that time frame compared to peak running time.

Energy companies are vile and greedy. Going solar is supposed to reduce emissions and help financially, but nope the companies want their cut and they aren’t even the ones paying for the infrastructure on the houses.

It feels like more steps back than forward and it so hard to save for extras.

We recently moved to a home with solar panels and are disappointed at the minimal affect it has on our power bill. Power companies are so greedy, just like the oil companies and all the other big businesses. None of them are struggling atm, they’re all still getting multi million/billion dollar profits. Whilst us little people are losing our homes we’ve worked so hard for

SA resident and totally hear you! Plus we rent so have no control over some things (30 year old ducted that costs us massively to use even a little). We are with Origin and winter literally gives me the chills with $500 PER MONTH electricity bills (family of 3!) We are so careful with use but the fact there is no insulation in the house means we have little choice but to use the heating option we have. Shop around. Get to know your peak and off peak. I run the dishwasher at 1am and also loads of washing. Turn off appliances at the power point where possible. Turn off lights when not needed. It’s all we can do.

Try an emerald ems device, helps track your usage.

Any appliance you can turn off at the PowerPoint and not use standby mode is worth it. We turn the microwave off at the wall after each use. Its a small thing but it makes a difference over the year. Same with the TV, etc.

Use the washing machine after 10pm when the electricity tariff rate is lower.

Wow! This is terrible, makes me think how li my we are here in VIC.
We turn everything off when not in use, try and use as much as the suns power as we can.

Turn everything off at night.
Microwave, stereo, dvd player etc etc.
Your kettle is the most wasted power source in your house!
ONLY boil a cup at a time as it pulls so much energy to boil a full kettle.

Turn off the appliances/devices from the switch if they are not in use i.e. phone charger, portable heater/fan, powerboards.

I find the little things help. Turning your tv off at the wall when you go to bed at night or leave for work, same with the toaster and microwave. It all helps. I have been doing it for years

I’m not sure if you have tried this but I have heard using washing machines ECT. At night when you are on a different tariff helps to save some more on the solar.

Wow, your bills are insane! We have some solar, I tend to wash and cook more on sunny days to use the power our solar generates. That way it’s not going back to the supplier for pittance cos I’m using it

My last bill was about $650 and that’s for myself home 24/7 my 8 month old and my partner who works during the day, I have the tv on 24/7 for my baby and constantly boiling the kettle but I always turn things off and pull power points out I’m not using and I pay my bill weekly it makes it so much easier than to forkout a big bill just have the company take a certain amount out of your account each week

The amount I used to pay on Electricity was crazy but now my kids have left home I am finding it so much cheaper haha

We have been using canstar and compare the market to check different energy costs and find this super useful. Be careful of hidden costs as well, as well as connection and disconnection fees that aren’t clearly stated. There are some great comparative prices out there

I make sure my gas heater doesn’t get used at a high temperature and keep it around 18 degrees, have shorter showers, and turn all electrics off at the power point. Two adults around $400 a quarter last year.