Covid-19 Energy Support Plans

Covid-19 support plans

Urghh, Covid-19. Here's information about:

• How we're still serving our customers
• How we're helping customers who have lost their job or business
• How customers who are thankfully unaffected can help
• How you can help a local business

How we're maintaining a high level of customer service

1. We're following all Government advice
   We're following government advice over social distancing at both work and outside work.
2. We're self-isolating
   Every member of our team apart from our Founder and the office dog is working remotely. Our IT kit is set up to enable this. As an essential service, if the NBN fails us and we have to ask some people to come back to the office then we will, in order to provide you with uninterrupted service. Our team is 100% Australian-based (in Richmond, Melbourne).
3. We're here to serve you
   Our actions to support our team mean that (so far 🤞) everyone at Energy Locals remains fighting fit and online to support customers.

Have you lost your job or is your business struggling? 

We are very sorry to hear that. We're a small business and we understand how hard this situation is. Here are some things that we can both do that will help:

Send us an email at [e-mail] to tell us the following things:

1. Tell us what's happened
   If you've lost your job or your business has shut down temporarily or permanently, firstly we're very sorry and secondly please tell us this in your email.
   
   Please include some confirmation to support this (eg a redundancy letter from your employer or if you're a business then some sort of announcement about your closure) so we can prioritise you.
2. Give us your consent to check for a better plan
   When you email us, tell us if we have your consent to switch you to a better plan if we have one available. This will save the back-and-forth and allow us to lower your bill immediately, if possible.
3. Give us details of your concession entitlements
   Tell us what Government concessions or rebates you're now entitled to. If you include your Centrelink number (CRN) and give us permission, we can check for you. This will help us to apply for all possible Government concessions on your behalf. 

After the above steps have been completed, here's what we will do:

1. Offer payment plans and hardship program assistance
   If you need extra help, we'll offer you a new or amended payment plan and/or add you to our Hardship Program. This program is designed to guide us at times like this.  
2. Keep you connected
   We'll make sure you have enough power for your needs during this difficult time. 
3. Disconnect and reconnect your business' power without charge
   If you're a small business that's paused operation, we'll disconnect the power without charge and reconnect it without charge when you hopefully re-open. We don't have any contract exit fees if you do need to cancel your account permanently. 
4. Help for life support customers
   If you're an existing or new life support customer, we'll continue to provide you with the appropriate support but please remember to send us the documentation we need when you first notify us of this. 
5. We'll do whatever else we can
   We'll provide you with whatever help we can until you get yourself back on your feet. Please note that we're a small business so we'll need to work with you to make this succeed. If your circumstances change, please keep us updated.

Need customer service support? Emailing us at [e-mail] will help us to 'smooth out' the flow of requests and mean we can keep our service performance strong.

Are you financially unaffected by Covid-19? 

We're pleased to hear that!

If you're up for it, there are a few things that you could do that would make a big difference:

1. Keep up to date with your payments
   We'll be providing extra support to customers who have lost their job or their business. This puts a lot of pressure on us as a small business, so regular payments from customers with jobs is really appreciated, especially when 85% of your bill has to be paid to power generators, network companies and towards environmental certificates. 
2. Manage your account online, if possible
   Our online self serve portal has a lot of tools that can help you resolve queries yourself 
3. Check our help portal before calling
   Got a question that we may have already written the answer to? Check out our help portal for answers to things we're often asked
4. Email us before you call
   We're getting quite a lot of calls from customers whose circumstances have changed. If you don't need us urgently, please email us at [e-mail].
5. Pay online
   If you need to make a payment on your account, please do that online. Keeping payments up to date makes the world of difference to small companies such as ours
6. Invite a friend
   Know a friend who's bored in quarantine and needs a change from YouTube videos? Suggest they join our community and we'll give you both $25 of free power to say thanks 
7. If you're not already with us, join us
   Want to sign up with us? Online is faster than phone - always has been and always will be (less than 5 minutes if you're an average typer). You can sign up both homes and businesses online

Can you help a local business?

We're proud to be disrupting traditional companies and want to support locals businesses that do the same while working hard to add huge value to their local community. This is the time to get behind them. 

Do you run, work for or know a local business that needs a bit extra support right now? 

If so, please drop me an email with a few details. Each day I'll give a shout out to one of them on social media over the next month. 

Please contact me if you have any suggestions or comments. Thank you for your support at this time. 

Adrian
Founder, Energy Locals
[e-mail]