Energy Bill Relief

Residential customers served by retailers

Eligible customers currently receiving the annual electricity concession through their retailer need to take no action and will automatically receive two $125 bill credits per year for two years after 1 July 2023.

Eligible customers not currently receiving the annual electricity concession should contact their retailer to register.

For information on support for eligible households, please go to: Tasmanian Government Concessions : ELECTRICITY

Embedded Network customers

The Energy Bill Relief program also assists eligible customers that access electricity for their principal place of residence via an embedded network. An embedded network arrangement exists if you pay for your electricity via your landlord in a caravan park or retirement home or village through an individually metered connection rather than purchase electricity directly from an electricity retailer (like Aurora or 1st Energy). You will need to apply for the rebate as follows.

For your household to be eligible for the rebate the electricity account holder must, as at 1 July in the relevant year, be a recipient or holder of:

• Pensioner Concession Card (issued by either Services Australia or the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA))
• Health Care Card (including Low Income Health Care Card)
• DVA Gold Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (issued by either Services Australia or DVA)
• Family Tax Benefit (FTB) A and B
• Carer Allowance
• Immicard (Bridging Visa E).

You must also be able to provide evidence of your address as well as a recent receipt indicating a metered electricity supply at your principal place of residence.

Caravans parked on residential properties are not eligible under this program as they are not individually metered and as a result do not meet the definition of an embedded network.

There are three ways for eligible applicants to access the rebate:

1. apply directly online via SmartyGrants
2. by taking your completed application form (PDF 128.8 KB) along with your relevant documentation for sighting by a Service Tasmania staff member to any Service Tasmania branch around the State; or
3. by sending completed paper applications along with copies of your relevant documentation directly to ReCFIT by mail to: Department of State Growth, Attention: ReCFIT Concessions Team, GPO Box 536, HOBART TAS 7001

If your application is approved, a grant payment of $250 will be made to eligible customers as a one-off payment for each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years. Applications received after 30 June 2024 will only be eligible for one $250 grant payment for 2024-25.

For the second $250 payment in 2024-25, it is intended that eligible applicants that have provided consent for us to confirm their details with Services Australia will not be required to reapply a second time, and that the $250 will automatically be provided in the second year to the nominated bank account, assuming all of the applicant eligibility requirements remain unchanged. Those that have not provided the requested Services Australia consent will have to reapply.

The Energy Bill Relief application form contains further details about the requirements to be met to receive the Energy Bill Relief payment. It will be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all requirements outlined in the form are met, and that all parts of the application form are fully completed.

To ensure payment of the grant for both years, applications must be received before 30 June 2024. Applications received after 30 June 2024 will only be eligible for the one grant payment of $250 for 2024-25.

What is the Energy Saver Loan Scheme?

The Energy Saver Loan scheme provides interest-free loans of up to $10,000 for eligible applicants to invest in energy efficient products to help lower their electricity bills.

Private residential customers, small business customers, community organisations, and landlords of residential rental properties will be able to access the Scheme. Further details of the eligibility requirements and the Scheme guidelines can be found on the Energy Saver Loan Scheme page.

The Scheme is now open. You can learn more about how to apply for the Scheme at the Brighte website, or by calling Brighte on 1300 274 448.

No charge for aurora+

The aurora+ app is designed to give customers more insight and control over their electricity usage by displaying power usage and costs every day and being able to top up your account when you need to.

Over the next 12 months, Aurora Energy will be speeding up the roll-out of aurora+, and there will be no additional charge for customers using the product.

Find out more about aurora+.

Aurora Energy's $1.7M Customer Support Fund

Tasmania's 100% owned and operated retailer Aurora Energy has made $1.7M available to assist residential and small business customers who are experiencing financial vulnerability. This will include helping people pay their energy bills through things like bill relief, waiving fees and charges, freezing debt, payment plans, and more. Aurora Energy has also extended its YES (financial hardship) program incentive payment for another 12 months.

If you're in need of support this winter, call Aurora Energy on 1300 12 2003 weekdays or visit the Aurora Energy website.

Household Energy Support

There are so many ways to tap into cleaner, greener and more cost-effective energy for your home. From rebates and concessions to energy-saving appliances, we've also compiled a list of local resources for smarter household power. Start exploring below.