Your building could be paying too much for power.
There's power in numbers. We're bringing many buildings together to ask power, gas and phone companies to compete for all of them at once. A big group can get a better price than one building on its own. Each building still gets its own price and decides for itself. Joining the group never costs your building more.
Typically A$190 to A$580 saved for each home, every year: A$40 to A$180 on the shared bills and A$150 to A$400 on the home's own power bill. Typical range to expect, as an illustration only. Free review. No saving, no fee. Nothing changes without the committee's yes.
A big group of buildings gets a better price
Priced for the group
Power and phone companies get one request for many buildings at once. They give a big group their best price. Each offer is firm and in writing, and many fix the price for the whole contract. No company sees another company's price.
Your building still decides
Your building gets its own offer, beside its other options. It's shown only if it beats the best price your building could get alone. Nothing changes unless your committee says yes.
Allowed by law
ACCC class exemption: we can legally group buildings to buy together.
Private
No building learns who else is in the group, and companies don't see your building's name or meter numbers until your committee chooses an offer.
The typical range to expect
| Building | Shared bills and homes' own bills, a year | For each home, a year |
|---|---|---|
| 20 lots | A$3,800 to A$11,600 | A$190 to A$580 |
| 50 lots | A$9,500 to A$29,000 | A$190 to A$580 |
| 100 lots | A$19,000 to A$58,000 | A$190 to A$580 |
| 200 lots | A$38,000 to A$116,000 | A$190 to A$580 |
Typical range to expect, as an illustration only. Shared savings reduce the levies, before our fee. Own-bill savings go to whoever pays the bill, and a building's total assumes every home changes plan.
The range assumes the building's shared-area power, gas, cleaning, waste and phone cost A$400 to A$900 for each unit a year, and that a building saves 10% to 20% of that. A home's own bill assumes its power costs A$1,500 to A$2,000 a year and a better plan saves 10% to 20% of it.
Why wouldn't your building join?
- The review is free. You see what your building could save before anyone signs anything.
- If we don't find a saving, you pay nothing.
- If we do, our fee is a quarter (25%) of the first year's saving. We charge it only after the saving shows on your bill. The building keeps the rest, and all of the saving after that.
- Nothing changes unless your committee says yes.
- No energy company pays us. We pay your strata manager nothing. We're truly independent and without bias.
- Your strata manager stays. We do the work for them.
- You can stop at any time.
What we check
- Common-property electricity: lifts, car-park lights and fans, pumps, pools.
- Gas for central hot water.
- Cleaning and waste, with written quotes for the same job.
- Phone and internet: lift phones, intercoms, building internet.
Your own unit's power isn't affected. We look only at what the levies pay for.
Any owner can put this on the agenda
You don't have to be on the committee. In NSW, any owner can add a motion to the next general meeting. You just write to the secretary. If your strata manager is the secretary, they must add it. (NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, Schedule 1, clause 4.)
It's the simplest way to get your building to check what it pays. Here's a motion you can use:
That the owners corporation: (a) join a group of buildings that ask suppliers for prices together; (b) get a free, independent check from SMEInspect, a company that energy companies do not pay, of what it pays for power, gas, cleaning, waste and phone for the shared areas and, if the building has one, for its main power meter and power network contract; and (c) report the results at the next general meeting.
Explanation
Our levies pay for power, gas, cleaning, waste and phone for the shared areas. Where every home gets its power through one main meter, that contract can affect what every home pays. Buildings that ask for prices together can pay 10% to 20% less. Typical range to expect, as an illustration only. The check costs the owners corporation nothing. Nothing changes unless the owners corporation agrees.
Free check of your own power bill
Everyone who lives here, owners and tenants, can check their power bill for free. Send us a photo of your power bill. We check every plan on offer. We show you the cheapest one for your home.
Homes that change to a cheaper plan often save A$150 to A$400 a year. Typical range to expect, as an illustration only.
Start with your building
About two minutes: your name, your email and the building. Then send one bill for the shared areas, or ask your strata manager to. We show you what the building could save. To see the actual offers, your committee says yes first.