Frequently Asked Questions
Life Support
At CovaU Energy, we know that if you or someone in your home is reliant on life support equipment, reliable power is critical. Register your equipment with us and we'll help to prevent disruptions to your supply.
If you or anyone at your premises are depending on life support equipment as detailed in the list below, you’re classified as life-support dependent and should register with us as soon as possible.
- Positive airways pressure (PAP) device
- Enteral feeding pump (formerly known as Kangaroo Pump)
- Phototherapy equipment
- Kidney dialysis machine
- Intermittent peritoneal dialysis machine
- Ventilators (formerly known as 'respirator' or 'iron lung')
- Oxygen concentrator
- Total parenteral nutrition pump
- External heart pump
- Other equipment required for life support – as specified by a Medical Practitioner
- Get the Life Support form either online or via post:
- Download and fill in the Life Support Form from our website: https://www.covau.com.au/Forms
- Phone us on 1300 689 866 and we'll post a form out to you.
- Complete the form, including the patient information, account holder details and, get the medical report completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner.
- Return application via post or email:
- Mail: PO Box R241 ROYAL EXCHANGE, NSW 1225,
Email: support@covau.com.au
In some states, concessions are available for customers using life support equipment. Find out more about concessions available in your state here.
CovaU’s Standard Offers
CovaU Basic, also known as Standing Offer, is an ongoing energy plan with no discounts or benefits. This offer is applied to a customer who does not actively choose an energy plan or enter into a market retail contract.
For example, for someone who moves into premises that the electricity or gas has already connected, any energy consumption in these premises will be charged at the Standard Offer rates under a Standard Retail Agreement before he/she chooses another energy plan.
In NSW, SA and South-east QLD, the CovaU Basic is called Default Market Offer (DMO).
Your new rates will appear on the first bill you receive after 1 July 2016.
The Default Market Offer has been introduced by the Federal government in July 2019 to reduce the standard offer prices for eligible residential and small business customers in NSW, SA and South-east QLD. It acts as a regulated price cap for electricity standard offer customers on flat tariffs.
The DMO is the annual maximum total bill amount (a reference price) that energy companies can charge for the standard offer prices based on a default average usage amount. The Australian Energy Regulator determines the reference prices and the average annual usage level for each electricity distribution zone, which they will review annually.
Note: The gas standard offer prices are not governed by the DMO. Energy companies are free to set reasonable supply and usage charges for the gas standard offers.
In VIC, the Standard Offer is called Victorian Default Offer (VDO).
Victorian Default Offer (VDO) is the electricity standard offer available for both residential and business customers in Victoria. The Victorian state government introduced the VDO on 1st July 2019 which aims at providing more affordable electricity prices to the public.
The VDO prices are set by the Victorian Essential Services Commission (ESC) and these regulated default prices will change every 1st of January.
Note: The gas standard offer prices are not governed by VDO. Energy companies are free to set reasonable supply and usage charges for the gas standard offers.
Pricing & Rate Changes
If your invoice is based on Actual Reading :
www.covau.com.au/actualreadinvoice
If your invoice is based on Monthly Instalment (monthly/quarterly):
There’s no change to any discounts, rebates or rewards that you may have linked to your energy plan.
Your new rates will appear on the first bill you receive after 1 July 2016.
We’ll also update our website with our new prices before 1 July 2016 or just call us and we can let you know.
Prompt payment discount will now apply to both supply and usage charges. (conditions apply, not applicable to all tariffs)
To view our rate change notification letter, click here
Prices sometimes change as the costs of providing our customers with energy changes.
When price changes occur, they don't just affect CovaU customers – most energy providers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia will be changing their prices at the same time, because costs of supplying energy continue to become more expensive.
You will never be surprised by a price change. All CovaU customers will be notified via mail and email about price changes, and related messaging will be posted on our website.
The effective dates of price changes will depend on what state you’re in and what sort of contract you’re on. Typically, price changes in NSW come into effect on 1st July and price changes in VIC come into effect on 1st January of every year.
When prices change, the exact amount your bill will be affected by depends on your energy plan, your usage and your network area.
Any benefits in the form of discounts, rebates or rewards you receive on your current energy plan won’t change.
No. Any discounts, rebates or rewards that you may have linked to your plan will not change if prices change.
Carbon Tax Update
The Carbon Tax or Carbon Pricing was known to be part of the Australian Federal Governments Clean Energy Plan. This plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for Australian businesses such as energy retailers which require to pay tax on these emissions. Please visit www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx for more information relating to the carbon tax.
On the 17th July 2014, the Australia government passed a legislation abolishing the Carbon Tax effective from 1 July 2014, this abolishment is being referred to as the Carbon Tax Repeal. This repeal means that the costs of carbon tax no longer applies and therefore any pass through charges to customers associated with the carbon tax will also no longer apply. For detailed information on the Carbon Tax Repeal please visit www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/repealing-carbon-tax .
Recently we advised our customers the price changes that were occurring for 1 July 2014. These price changes were based on changes to wholesale and did not take into account of the Carbon Tax Repeal.
We are working hard on removing the Carbon Tax from all of our energy pricing right now, all residential and small business customers will see a reduction in their energy rates on their energy bills that include consumption from 1 July 2014 onwards. If you haven’t already received a bill that includes consumption from 1 July 2014 there may be a small delay in processing your bills while we ensure that we remove the Carbon Tax rates prior to processing.
All of Australia is working hard for a clean energy future, for more information please visit www.environment.gov.au .
Click Here to view Covau Energy Carbon Tax Removal Substantiation Statement for Electricity.
Click Here to view Covau Energy Carbon Tax Removal Substantiation Statement for Gas.
Meter Installation
Email us at support@covau.com.au or call us on 1300 689 866 and we'll be happy to help.
There are specific timeframes for meter installation in different scenarios:
(1) New connection is required:
- The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
- Within 6 business days from the day we are informed the supply connection is completed on your site.
(2) A connection alteration is required:
- The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
- Within 15 business days from the day we received and confirmed your application.
(3) No new connection or alteration is required:
- The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
- Within 15 business days from the day we received and confirmed your application.
Please note that the above timeframes won’t apply if:
- You have not entered into an agreement with us for the meter to be installed
- You’ve provided us with incorrect information for the application
- The site is not safe to enter or we are prevented from entering the property
- The site is not ready for meter installation
- The connection service is not completed
- The meter installation may interrupt the supply of another retailer’s customers
- You have entered into an aggregated electricity consumption agreement that specifically says the time frames don't apply
The standard timeframes will be resumed once we have been informed that the above exceptions are resolved.
Smart Meters
A smart meter digitally records your energy use and automatically sends all its data back to CovaU Energy. So there's no need for a manual meter read and your usage stats are accurate every time for no more estimated bills.
Smart meters provide significantly more-detailed information about how much energy you use compared with basic meters. They can also be controlled remotely, making it easy to turn power on and off at the flick of a remote switch without needing an on-site technician.
Smart meters have benefits for consumers, retailers like CovaU, and energy suppliers. Some of the main benefits are:
- No more estimated bills, ever.
- The data collected from a smart meter can empower you to better understand your energy usage habits and make informed decisions to reduce what you use both for the environment and for lower bills.
- Having a smart meter allows connectivity to other services, such as batteries, which can be useful for solar customers.
- CovaU can offer you targeted tips and advice on your energy usage and how you can maximise savings.
- Smart meters allow your energy supplier to get faster information on supply outages, so they can respond faster to any incidents and have more information at their fingertips to prevent outages in the future.
Older basic meters are gradually being phased out. That means that any newly-built property will be required to have a smart meter. Same goes for meter replacements. If an old basic meter needs replacing, it must be replaced with a smart meter. You can also request to switch to a smart meter if you'd like to move faster, just contact us and we'll talk over your options.
Contact us to discuss how we can help you make the switch. You can phone us on 1300 689 866 or email us at support@covau.com.au.
Absolutely! Your personal information and data obtained about your electricity use are protected under the National Electricity Law and the Privacy Act 1988.
If a smart meter has been installed at your home or business but you don't want your data shared with CovaU, you can request for the data connection to be disabled and for manual meter readings to continue. Note that there may be costs associated with sending a technician out for regular manual reads of a smart meter.
If you switch to CovaU from another energy retailer, we'll upgrade you to a smart meter for free. Find out more here.
Your plan will remain the same, or you can select a new plan when you switch to a smart meter.
Yes. By necessity, your supply will be turned off during installation and then reconnected. CovaU endeavors to minimise the disruption caused and we will always provide you with at least 4 days' notice of a planned interruption for meter installation. Feel free to contact us for a timeframe around likely installation times at your property.
All consumer electronics in Australia are required to comply with Australian Standards, and smart meters are no different. Smart meters have the same electromagnetic exposure limit requirements as many other familiar household products such as phones and baby monitors. Smart meter installation is carefully regulated for safety, too. More information on smart meter safety can be found on the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency website.
Smart Meter Installation
Retailers are required to install smart meters for new connections (eg. a new build house) and if your meter is faulty or has reached the end of its life and needs replacing. If your meter needs replacing, you can ask your retailer to disable the communications functions. There may be additional costs associated with the retailer having to do manual reads of your meter if you choose to have the telecommunications disabled.
If your current meter is working properly and a retailer wants to replace it with a smart meter, you can opt out of the smart meter installation. You can only opt out if you haven’t waived your right to opt out when you signed up to your current electricity contract.
Retailers are required to provide you at least four business days’ notice of any planned interruptions to your electricity supply to install the meter.
Yes. State and territory electrical safety regulators have reviewed their arrangements to ensure they are suitable for smart meter installations.
This depends on your existing energy offer. You will need to check this with your retailer. Go to Energy Made Easy to find the best available offers in your postcode.
Your electricity supply will be interrupted for a short time during the installation. Your retailer must give you at least four business days’ notification of the supply interruption.
The notification must tell you the date on which the retailer expects to replace the meter as well as the time and length of the retailer planned interruption. Your retailer has to include a 24 hour telephone number for enquiries when they notify you of a planned interruption. The retailer must also use its best endeavours to restore your supply as soon as possible after the installation.
Yes. Your energy data and personal information are protected under the National Electricity Law and the Privacy Act 1988.
What To Do If You Have a Problem
From 1 December 2017, your retailer is responsible for the meter at your property. If you think there is a problem or fault with your meter, you should contact your electricity retailer for assistance.
However you should contact your distributor (the company that owns the poles and wires) if your electricity or gas stops working, there is a blackout or the supply is bad or if there is a fault or emergency, for example, an electricity pole is down.
The energy ombudsman in your state of territory can help you resolve complaints with your electricity retailer.
If you are unable to resolve an issue with your retailer in the first instance, contact your energy ombudsman for assistance about the following issues:
- Billing issues following the installation of a smart meter
- Customer service issues during the installation process
- Problems with the meter exchange
Older analogue meters sometimes under-record customer household electricity use. The smart meters will provide greater accuracy and may initially give the impression of a higher bill.
Power of Choice Reforms
Power of Choice is a package of reforms designed to give you more options and control of how you use and manage your electricity. These reforms were initiated following the 2012 Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) Power of Choice review.
Since then the AEMC has made several rule changes to support the recommendations of the Power of Choice review, including rules to introduce competition in metering services and to reduce barriers to embedded network customers accessing offers from electricity retailers through a new embedded network manager role. These rule changes become effective on 1 December 2017.
Find out more information about the Power of Choice review at the AEMC website.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has facilitated an industry-wide program to implement Power of Choice
The Power of Choice changes enable the competitive deployment of smart meters which give more choice to residential, small business and embedded network customers to engage in the retail energy market.
For customers this will mean access in the future to a wider range of services, including more frequent energy usage data, a wider range of pricing options and the ability to access products and services enabled by smart meters such as demand management.
Billing and Payments
Yes, you can choose to change the way your bills are received at any time by logging into your online account or calling one of our friendly customer service agents on 1300 689 866.
If you are experiencing financial hardship please contact one of our friendly customer service agents to discuss payment options available to you.
eBills are sent to the registered email address for each site, if you require your eBill sent to multiple emails you can set up forwarding rules on your registered email account to automatically forward these emails on.
No, all payment options are available to you regardless of how you choose to receive your bill
For great energy saving ideas, please see our tips here .
As your email address is your login name please call our customer service department to change your email address.
You can elect to receive an eBill by selecting eBill option on your online account or you can call one of friendly customer service agents to organize this for you on 1300 689 866.
You are allowed to have multiple options on the delivery method of your bills, if you no longer want to receive paper bills please login to your online account and ensure that un-tick any methods of delivery that you do not want
Payments made by Direct Credit Card will incur a charge of 0.73%. Credit Card Payments via Australia Post will incur a charge of 0.803%.
An additional $3 fee applies to over the counter payments made at an Australia Post outlet.
An eBill is an electronic bill that is sent electronically to your email or web address. An eBill allows you to make your payments and save all your bills online, as well as being environmentally friendly and reducing the carbon emmissions.
Heating value indicates the amount of energy that can be obtained as heat by burning a unit of gas.
Gas is measured by mega joule units and a mega joule is the result of the units of gas recorded multiplied by the heating value and the conversion factor.
Anyone who is registered and has a valid email address to use.
Your bill can occasionally be estimated as the meter reader may not have been able to safely access your property to read your meter at the time your read was due, the estimate is based your most recent usage and conditions.
You can now submit your own meter reading to CovaU to aovid inaccuate billing. Click here to find out how.
Yes an eBill contains the same information as a paper bill.
Yes unless you choose not to.
Direct debit form (online submission) .
Direct debit form (print version) .
Understanding Energy Jargon
Your National Meter Identifier (NMI) is a unique number that is assigned to each premise and links your electricity meter with your premise. All energy retailers must include the NMI on their electricity bill.
Energy charges are the charges applied for the energy consumed during a time period. These charges vary depending on the tariff and contract.
Environmental Charges:
Environmental charges include the costs for carbon price, greenproducts and greenhouse gas scheme certificates.
Network Charges:
Network charges include the cost of the supply of energy to a property and maintaining the network of poles and wires.
Market Charges:
Market charges include costs from AEMO and NEM such as market fees and ancillary fees.
- Ancillary fees:
Ancillary charges are for services used by AEMO to manage the power system safely, securely and reliably. Ancillary services maintain key technical characteristics of the system, including standards for frequency, voltage, network loading and system re-start processes.
GST
Goods and Services Tax.
This is a fixed administration cost, which is charged for servicing your site.
This is a discount that relates directly to your contract and plan. The discount is only applicable if payment in full is received on or prior to the due date.
A loss factor is the amount of energy that is lost while being distributed and transported to your premises (this is included in consumer energy costs).
Electricity
- Watts:Volts x amperes
- Kilowatt (kW):1000 watts
- Megawatt (MW)1,000,000 watts
- Gigawatt (GW)1,000,000,000 watts
A watt hour:A watt hour is the amount of energy consumed by an appliance in one hour if it operates at a power of one watt. A watt-hour is too small a unit for most purposes, so we use the "kilowatt-hour" (kWh), which is equal to 1000 watt-hours. Kilowatt-hours are the units measured by electricity meters.
Gas
Joule (J):A Joule is a unit of measure of energy; it is equivalent to passing electric current of one amp through a resistance of one ohm for one second.
Kilojoule (KJ):1000 joules
Megajoule (MJ):1000,000 joules
Terra joule (TJ):1,000,000,000,000
Contact From Us
From time to time, CovaU Energy may wish to provide you with information about offers or products. If you do not wish to receive information from us you may want to register for the Do Not Contact List. The Do Not Contact List allows you to not receive unsolicited marketing from us. Simply email us your name, address, telephone number and your account number (if applicable) to support@covau.com.au or call us on 1300 689 866
There are specific timeframes for meter installation in different scenarios:
(1) New connection is required:
The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
Within 6 business days from the day we are informed of the supply connection is completed on your site
(2) A connection alteration is required:
The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
Within 15 business days from the day we received and confirmed your application
(3) No new connection or alteration is required:
The meter will be installed by the date that we agreed on; or
Within 15 business days from the day we received and confirmed your application
Please note that the above timeframes won’t apply if:
You have not entered into an agreement with us for the meter to be installed
You’ve provided us with the incorrect information for application
The site is not safe to enter, or we are prevented from entering the property
The site is not ready for meter installation
The connection service is not completed
The meter installation may interrupt the supply of another retailer’s customers
You have entered into an aggregated electricity consumption agreement that specifically says the timeframes don't apply
The standard timeframes will be resumed once we have been informed that the above exceptions are resolved.
Guaranteed service level rebates for customers in the ACT
On 1 July 2020, changes to the Consumer Protection Code came into law to make sure that energy retailers operating in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) meet guaranteed service levels. These changes were made by The Independent
If we don't meet guaranteed service levels outlined in the list below, customers in the Australian Capitol Territory (ACT) are entitled to a rebate.
Service level guarantees
Electricity and gas connection guarantees
If we don't meet the following guaranteed service levels for electricity and gas connection timeframes, CovaU will pay a rebate of $60 per day for every day beyond the guaranteed timeframe (maximum $300).*
- If you request an electricity or gas connection before 2pm on a business day, you can expect to be connected on the same day.
- If you request an electricity or gas connection after 2pm on a business day, you can expect to be connected by the end of the next business day.
- If you request an electricity or gas connection on a non-business day (a weekend or public holiday), you can expect to be connected by the end of the next business day.
- If you request an electricity or gas connection for a specific date, you can expect to be connected by the date agreed between you and CovaU.
*When you contact us regarding a failure to meet the guaranteed service level for connection timeframes, we will investigate to confirm that we are responsible for the connection delay. If the connection delay is due to a CovaU error, we will pay the relevant rebate to your CovaU energy account.
Wrongful disconnection
- CovaU will pay a $100 wrongful disconnection rebate if we disconnect your account in error.
Customer complaint timeframes
We'll provide a rebate of $20 per complaint if we fail to respond to your complaints in a timely manner. We commit to:
- Acknowledge the complaint immediately or as soon as practicable;
- Reply with a direct response to your complaint within 20 business days.
Notice period for planned interruptions
CovaU will give you at least 4 business days' notice for any planned disconnection of your gas or electricity supply for updates to or installation of a meter or solar panels. We will pay you a $50 rebate if we haven't met the guaranteed notice period for planned interruptions to your supply.
CovaU notice for planned interruptions covers interruptions within our control, and are separate to any interruptions to your supply as a result of the electricity or gas distributor in your area.
How do I get a rebate?
We regularly monitor CovaU service levels. When we identify failures to meet our service level guarantees, we apply applicable rebates to customer accounts, alongside details of the type of rebate paid. If your account is in credit, you can contact us to request a refund instead.
If you think we haven't met our guaranteed service levels, please get in touch.