On 9 May 2023, the WA State and Commonwealth Governments jointly announced a number of energy bill relief offsets payments that will be available to eligible customers. The WA State Government then announced a series of additional payments that would complement the national scheme.

• Residential customers currently in receipt of an Energy Assistance Program (EAP) will receive a $350 offset, payable over 2 installments of $175, with the first payment being made from 8 July 2023 and the second payment being made from 2 December 2023. This payment is co funded by the WA State and Commonwealth Governments.
• These EAP customers will receive a further $150, payable over 2 installments of $75, with the first payment being made from 8 July 2023 and the second payment being made from 2 December 2023. This payment is funded by the WA State Government.
• This will bring the total payment for EAP customers to $500. 
• All other residential customers will receive a $400 offset, payable over 2 installments of $200, with the first payment being made from 8 July 2023 and the second payment being made from 2 December 2023. This payment is funded by the WA State government.
• Eligibility for receipt of any of the above payments excludes residential customers who are currently on the K1 tariff.

The WA State and Commonwealth Governments jointly announced on 9 May 2023 a $350 offset payment for eligible customers as part of the “National Energy Bill Relief” initiative. This is a payment that will be provided to certain households to assist with energy costs.

Jointly funded by the WA State Government and the Commonwealth Governments, eligible residential concession and pension customers will receive a $350 National Energy Bill Relief Offset, payable over 2 instalments of $175, from 8 July 2023 and 2 December 2023.

Eligible concession and pension customers are those receiving income support, pensioners, and Commonwealth Senior Health Card holders along with Family Tax Benefit A and B recipients. A full list of eligibility is recorded in the Synergy Frequently Asked Questions below.

Customers must be on a residential tariff – this, however, excludes customers who are on a K1 tariff. These customers will be eligible under the Small Business Energy Bill Relief Offset.

More information will be provided in the Terms & Conditions when available.

The National Energy Bill Relief Offset will be applied as an offset payment to eligible residential customer accounts that are supplied electricity by Synergy under an eligible residential product as at 9 May 2023.

Customers will NOT need to apply for these offset payments, as they will be automatically identified by Synergy.
Eligible residential products include:

• The Home Plan (A1) Tariff;
• All non-standard residential electricity supply products including the Midday Saver, Community Energy, EV Add On Plan and grandfathered products including Smart Home Plan, SmartPower and PowerShift;
• Pre-payment meter accounts on one of the above residential tariffs; and
• Pilot products offered by Synergy targeting residential customers.

Customers on business tariffs (including those customers on the K1tariff) will not be eligible for the residential offset payments.

Small Business and Charity Customers, including customers on the K1 tariff, will be eligible under the business scheme.

Customers on the B1 tariff are not eligible as they will receive the credit under their Home Plan A1 tariff account.

Synergy also notes that customers on the B1 tariff will also have an accompanying eligible residential product that will receive the credit.

To be eligible for the EAP you will need one of the following cards:

• Centrelink Health Care Card;
• Centrelink Pensioner Concessions Card;
• Veteran Affairs Gold Card;
• Centrelink Commonwealth Seniors card;
• Veteran Affairs Commonwealth Seniors Card; or
• Veteran Affairs Pensioner Concession Card.

To find out more about concessions and rebates or to add your card details please go to the Concessions page on the Synergy web site.

Customers will NOT need to apply for these payments, as they will be automatically identified by Synergy. Customers will just need to have an eligible residential account as at the 9 May 2023.

Eligible customer accounts are only entitled to one National Energy Bill Relief Offset per household. EAP recipients will be eligible for the additional WA State Government funded payment of $150.

If a customer is eligible under an existing EAP card criteria and also eligible under the Family Tax Benefit A & B they will only receive the one payment. If both residents are eligible under their own name for a payment, the account will still only receive the one payment in total.

However, if a customer has two properties and can meet the eligibility on each account, they will receive a payment on each of the properties.  For example, the Veteran Affairs Gold Card in the husband’s name could be used on property 1 and a Centrelink Health care card in the wife’s name could be used on property 2.

The WA State Government has advised that households which are billed for their electricity use not by Synergy or Horizon Power – such as residents of caravan parks, retirement villages, apartment buildings or communities supplied by local mining companies – will be eligible for an equivalent credit, except in exceptional circumstances.

Households that are not billed by Synergy or Horizon Power and that were registered for the Energy Concession Extension Scheme (ECES) on 9 May 2023, will receive an equivalent credit automatically through the ECES.

Work is currently underway on an application process for households not billed directly by Synergy or Horizon Power and for those who are not eligible for ECES. This work is being completed by the WA State Government.

To be eligible for the first payment, both residential and small business customers must have an eligible account as at the announcement date of 9 May 2023.  

• Residential customers who open an account after 9 May 2023 but before 25 November 2023 will only be eligible for the second payment, that will be made in December 2023.  
• Business customers who open an account after 9 May 2023 but before 25 November 2023 will only be eligible for the second payment, that will be made in December 2023. 

Credits cannot be transferred to a bank account. If you’re transferring your customer account to a different supply address, then your credit may be carried forward and applied to future bills at that new supply address.

Both the Commonwealth and State based payments are non-refundable. Customers will not be able to seek a refund or “cash-out” any surplus amount. These payments can only be used as an offset against costs associated with the supply of electricity at the residential premises.

If the account holder closes their account and the offset has not been fully applied to the account, any remaining balance will be returned to the WA State Government and not refunded or “cashed out”.