A community-led project in western Sydney has revealed the reality for struggling families as energy prices soar.
Hundreds of thousands of households and small businesses are paying up to 27 per cent more for electricity across the country as of July 1.
The Voices of Power project team have spent the last five years listening to the people of western Sydney explain the challenges of navigating the Australian energy system and guiding them through the process.
Sydney Community Forum executive officer Asha Ramzan is a first generation migrant from the Liverpool and Blacktown area and one of 50 community leaders who run sessions guiding locals.
She said she had seen increasing demand for rooftop solar among migrant communities but there were countless people who did not know they were eligible for subsidies until attending a session.
“I think there’s a lot of understandable caution from migrant communities about taking something on that requires them to spend quite a bit of money, even if it is subsidised, and not knowing who to trust,” she said.
An elderly woman from the Pacific Islander community approached Ms Ramzan after one of the sessions with a look of anguish on her face.
She said she shared a home with her children, grandchildren – and soon great-grandchildren – yet had no idea she qualified for the rooftop solar rebate.
“Her grandchildren had all found part-time jobs while at school and they had all pooled their money to put rooftop solar on without a rebate,” Ms Ramzan said.
“She was so devastated.”
Another woman had remained silent throughout the entire session but approached afterwards asking for help.
She had five children and was considering whether she could afford to pay her energy bill or feed her children.
“I felt really destroyed for her because she had so much shame attached to the fact that she couldn’t afford to pay her energy bill and I said to her, of course we can get you help,” she said.
Ms Ramzan explained that for many migrants – who come from countries where the government is not an institution they trust – there is a lot of scepticism around schemes like the solar rooftop rebate.
To make matters worse, she has heard countless stories from migrants who have developed a suspicion towards subsidised schemes after scams emerged during the federal government’s ceiling insulation scheme.
Ms Ramzan said even after years of helping people understand the benefits of rooftop solar, she still agonised over the significant outlay of upfront costs required to install solar on her roof.
“You can imagine that if you are not highly literate in English, and perhaps not even literate in your own language in terms of written language, then you will struggle,” she said.
It is clear to Ms Ramzan that government resources translated into community languages are not going far enough to reach large swathes of the population.
“There wasn’t one listening session in which people who were struggling realised they could actually get access to some relief,” she said.
Voices of Power offers up a team of bilingual support staff that offers hands-on guided support on everything from switching to a cheaper plan or provider or even completing a form.
The project is one of three new grants approved by the Board of Energy Consumers Australia this month totalling more than $800,000.
Energy rebate schemes available in NSW
- Solar panels for low-income households
Low-income residents who are already receiving up to $285 off their energy bill annually can apply to give up their rebate for 10 years in exchange for a fully installed 3 kilowatt solar system.
They must hold a pensioner concession card or a veterans card and be a homeowner.
The government says it could save households up to $600 a year on their energy bills.
- Up to $650 off energy bills
Pensioners, self-funded retirees, families, carers and low-income households will automatically receive a one-off $500 payment towards paying their electricity bills.
Small businesses using less than 100 megawatt hours of electricity per year will receive a one-off payment of $650.
More than 1.5 million households and 320,000 small business are eligible for the payment.
- Gas rebate of up to $110 a year
NSW residents who hold a pensioner concession card, healthcare card or a veterans card can save up to $110 a year on their gas bill.
- Families can receive up to $180
Families who receive the Family Tax Benefit can get a credit of up to $180 on their energy bill.
There is also a rebate available for people who require life support at home or other medical reasons.