RAA Energy’s Electricity Plans – Are They Any Good?

RAA Energy officially launched yesterday in South Australia, offering members-only electricity plans. So, how much does RAA’s “electrifying offer” cost and what’s with the bearded bee guy?

RAA was founded by a small group of motoring pioneers in 1903. Today it boasts more than 820,000 members and offers a bunch of services beyond those related to motoring – home insurance, home services and now electricity to name a few.

In August the organisation announced it was “set to shock local energy market” with what it said would be a “trusted, fair and transparent energy plan”. Yesterday the wraps came off it.

“RAA Energy is different – we don’t profit from the energy you use,” said RAA CEO Nick Reade.

However, there’s a not-insignificant monthly subscription fee of $24.95 that “helps cover the cost to keep our lights on,” said Mr. Read. Members taking up the plan will also give the organisation added opportunities to put its solar and battery installation service in front of them; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Comparing A Pair

RAA Energy is a trading name of electricity retailer Energy Locals Pty Ltd. So, how does RAA Energy stack up? I put my address details into its plan finder and the only offer presented was a Time-of-Use (ToU) plan:

• Monthly subscription fee: $24.95
• Peak (6:00am to 9:59am, 3:00pm to 12:59am) – 41.67 c/kWh
• Off Peak (1:00am to 5:59am) – 29.32 c/kWh
• Shoulder (10:00am to 2:59pm) – 25.19 c/kWh
• Daily supply charge – 107.94 c/per day
• Solar feed-in tariff (First 8 kWh Daily) – 4.00 c/kWh
• Solar feed-in tariff (Remaining kWh) – 2.00 c/kWh

Now let’s look at one of the big retail players, Energy Australia. The following rates are for the same address after the 7% discount offered is applied, and the tariff timeframes are the same as RAA.

• Monthly subscription fee: $0
• Peak – 52.99 c/kWh
• Off Peak – 28.64 c/kWh
• Shoulder – 16.78 c/kWh
• Daily supply charge – 115.19 c/per day
• Feed-in tariff  (First 8 kWh Daily) – 4.5 c/kWh
• Feed-in tariff (Remaining kWh) – 4.5 c/kWh

Here’s the comparison in a graph.

Annual Estimated Costs Compared

The lowest annual price for an average customer (4,000 kWh) is $2,139 says RAA. This price estimate is based on an average residential customer using 4,000 kWh annually. What I’m not clear on is whether that includes the monthly subscription fee, which over a year works out to be $299.40.

For average electricity usage in my area (4,000 kWh yearly – so apples-to-apples), EnergyAustralia says this plan has a lowest possible price of $2,074. So, it’s a bit cheaper than RAA’s based on those figures; and much more so if the monthly subscription fee wasn’t included in RAA’s annual estimate.

Of course, your own mileage will vary based on how and when you use energy and note that EnergyAustralia’s peak rates are much higher than RAA’s. The comparison above isn’t to say that EnergyAustralia necessarily offers the best deals in SA; whichever company does will depend to some degree on your own circumstances.

And on that note …

Navigating Electricity Retailers

Comparing electricity retailers can be a pain in the butt, but it’s important to check fairly regularly to ensure you’re on the best plan for your situation.

For owners of solar power systems (and even for those who aren’t), SQ has made this onerous task easier with our electricity plan comparison tool that includes feed-in tariff rates. Just bear in mind the best plan has a balance of (comparatively) high feed-in-tariffs, low usage tariffs and low daily charges. We don’t have RAA plans in the tool yet, but no doubt they’ll be added in the not-too-distant future.

As for the deal with RAA’s bearded bee guy – I have absolutely no idea. But the slogan accompanying the pic above was “Excessive electricity bills are toast”.