The Engie NRMA deal
NRMA has been promoting special offers from Engie under its former name Simply Energy to their members for many years.
It is reasonable for NRMA members to expect that the Engie (Simply Energy) NRMA electricity and gas deal was a very good one, otherwise why would they promote it?
Unfortunately, we understand that NRMA is paid handsomely by Engie for the privilege of using the NRMA marketing channel for sub-standard energy deals.
Peter’s case study
When Peter approached us to compare electricity for his home, we saw yet again how uncompetitive the NRMA electricity rates really were.
Peter, who lives in Penrith, could have saved $349 p.a. by switching to the cheapest electricity price. We compared the cheapest planwith the Engie (Simply Energy) NRMA plan designed specifically to ‘benefit’ NRMA Members. While the Engie NRMA does offer gas, it offers no discount for gas.
Savings available in different towns in NSW
It gets worse. If Peter had lived in Wagga, he would be losing $436 p.a. by choosing the NRMA electricity rates than choosing the best available prices.
The following table and graph show the savings available in 3 different towns across NSW. These towns cover each of the electricity distributors, Endeavour Energy, Ausgrid and Essential Energy. For the savings calculation we used Peter’s usage and electricity tariff type. There are similar savings available for other tariff types.
Savings on Engie NRMA Simply Energy deal by Town
| Comparison | Newcastle | Penrith | Wagga |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engie (Simply Energy) NRMA Cost/year | $2535 | $2984 | $2561 |
| Cheapest Electricity provider Cost/year | $2136 | $2635 | $2125 |
| Savings | $399 | $349 | $436 |
This means that an NRMA member like Peter could save from $349 – $436 by getting the cheapest prices for electricity rather than the Engie NRMA offer in NSW.
Engie (Simply Energy) do offer a credit of $200 on your first electricity bill, although there is no similar benefit for gas. Unfortunately, this benefit does not compensate for the high rates on offer. Over a year, other plans are still $133-$157 less expensive. It does suggest that you could get the credit from Engie and switch to the cheapest plan after the credit is exhausted.
Engie (Simply Energy) Solar NRMA
We also checked out the Engie (Simply Energy) NRMA solar plans. The Engie solar NRMA plan has quite good feed in tariff rates which can offset for the very high energy usage prices. Note that the attractive solar feed in tariff only applies to the first 8kWh each day which won’t compensate for the higher usage charges for most customers. A typical customer in the Ausgrid area would be $200-230 pa worse off even when allowing for the $50 up front credit.
Energy Umpire
Energy Umpire offers a simple solution for NRMA members. We compare every offer from every supplier and recommend the cheapest. We do not accept any commissions from suppliers, so you get an independent comparison. When there is a cheaper price available, you get it. For a free comparison and savings calculation, visit our website.