Changing Energy Retail Project Report: A research report funded by the Consumers Utilities Advocacy Centre

Until this project, little public research had been conducted in Victoria to quantify the price benefits or dis-benefits obtained by customers who switched electricity retailers.1 These include the actual tariff, rebates, loyalty programs points, dual fuel arrangements and non-cash benefits such as cinema tickets. Previous research by the Financial Consumer Rights Council (Sharam 2004) and the Institute for Social Research (Sharam 2005) indicated that the form of the price offer rather than an actual understanding of the proposed tariff appeared to motivate most customers. Therefore, while some customers had switched in the belief they were obtaining an advantage, it cannot be assumed that they had actually gained. It would seem that most customers are unable to or do not quantitatively assess the net financial benefit of the transfer to another retailer. Of particular interest to this research was the impact of changes to tariff structures as these can significantly modify the impact of other benefits such as rebates. [Background]