Behind the Network Tariff Optimisation review program with Helen Joe

As the March Network Tariff Optimisation (NTO) review program has recently taken place, we wanted to give you an inside look into how the program may help unlock potential savings on your energy bill.

To do this, we sat down with Helen Joe, one of our energy experts behind the NTO review program and a Product Owner at Shell Energy, to discuss network tariffs and why you should be paying attention to them.

Q1. To start, can you define what network tariffs are?

Network tariffs are regulated charges set by the network distributor and approved by the Australian Energy Regulator to cover the cost of building, maintaining, and operating the poles and wires that deliver electricity to your business.

These tariffs, which are also known as network charges, form part of your retail electricity bill and are passed through from your network distributor.

Q2. How do they fit into your electricity bill?

Your network charges can often make up around 30%¹ or more of your total energy bill. That means that any way you can optimise your network tariff for cost savings can translate into significant savings.

Network tariffs tend to change over time, meaning that the right tariff for your business three years ago may not be the right option for your business now.

Q3. Why does Shell Energy review network tariffs on a regular basis?

The team at Shell Energy conducts a review of eligible customers’ network tariffs every six months, as part of our NTO review program. We do not charge for this service. We do this because we know how network tariffs can change regularly, as do the energy consumption patterns of our customers, and we aim to be proactive in trying to find energy cost savings for our customers.

In fact, through our NTO review program we identified a total potential cost savings of $10.95 million² across both our large business electricity customers and small multi-site business customers in 2022.

Q4. Can you really save money by switching network tariffs?

Yes, you can. It’s important to us that our customers realise that changing their network tariff could be a very real and achievable way to help you save money on your energy bill.

By applying these changes to your tariffs, the only change to your Retail Electricity Agreement will be the cost of your network charges.

As a further benefit, the money you will save on your electricity bill after changing network tariffs – if your business has been identified as benefiting from doing so – could then be reinvested into an energy efficiency project, which could ultimately lead to further cost savings as well as helping you to achieve your sustainability goals. Now that’s what we’d call a win-win.

Q5. I’d like to change network tariffs. What do I do next?

If you are an existing Shell Energy customer, I’d recommend checking your inbox for an email from your account manager, from March, that will tell you the results of your complimentary NTO review. It’s also important to check your spam or junk folder, as your email may have ended up there, these emails are usually sent out around March and September of each year.

If your site/s are identified as being able to change to a better network tariff all you will have to do is reach out to your account manager to indicate you would like to make the change and we will take care of the rest for you.

However, please note that you can only change network tariffs once every 12 months, and that your distributor makes the final decision on whether a change can be made.

*Important information

¹ Based on Shell Energy’s customer billing data for the last 12 months.

² Estimated savings identified by Shell Energy’s Network Tariff Optimisation review program for C&I and SME multi-site (excl. Victoria) customers in the 2022 tariff reviews. Actual savings will vary depending on customer usage and network charges.

Network tariff eligibility requirements apply and changes are at the discretion of the Distributor. Shell Energy does not guarantee that the Distributor will accept a request to change the network tariffs. Our recommendations are based on your business energy consumption for the 12 months immediately prior to the review.

Our review is based on historical usage data and current tariffs. Your historical usage may not be reflective of your future usage and tariff pricing may change. If a network tariff change is approved by the Distributor, you may be locked into the new tariff for a period of time. Please consider future usage before proceeding with the request to change tariffs.