Victorian energy concessions

The Victorian Government provides energy concessions to eligible concession card holders.

Service to Property Charge Concession, Controlled Load Electricity Concession and Re-energisation (Transfer) Fee Waiver Concession will no longer be available from 1 December 2023.

Victorian energy concessions eligibility

To be eligible you must hold one of the following concession cards:

• Pensioner Concession Card (PCC). This card is issued by the Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
• Health Care Card (HCC) issued by the Services Australia.
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.

An energy concession can be claimed where all of the following criteria are met:

• An eligible concession card is held and it is valid.
• The residential energy account with Lumo for energy (electricity and/or gas) is in the name of the concession cardholder.
• The name on the account(s) and the eligible concession must be identical.
• The address the residential energy we supply to is the primary residence.

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Energy Bill Relief - 2023 & 2024

The Federal Government has announced an Energy Bill Relief Fund.

Victorian customers can find out more about their eligibility and how payments will be made here.

Annual Electricity Concession

The Annual Electricity concession entitles you to a 17.5% discount off your household electricity usage and service costs. The Annual Electricity concession is calculated after discounts and solar credits have been deducted from your energy bill and does not apply to the first $171.60 of your annual bills and this is calculated as a daily rate on each bill.

To receive your Annual Electricity concession you must provide us with your valid concession details. You can do this via MyAccount or by calling 1300 115 866.

Winter Gas Concession

The Winter Gas concession entitles you to a 17.5% discount off your gas usage and service costs between May 1st and October 31st every year. The Winter Gas concession is calculated after discounts are deducted and does not apply to the first $62.40 of the six-month winter period bills. The Winter Gas concession is calculated as a daily rate on each bill.

To receive your Winter Gas concession you must provide us with your valid concession details. You can do this via MyAccount or by calling 1300 115 866.

Service to Property concession

The Service to Property concession provides a reduction on the Service Charge (also known as a Daily Charge) for households with low electricity consumption and an eligible concession card. The Service to Property concession is applied if the cost of electricity used is less than the Service Charge.

To receive your Service to Property concession you must provide us with your valid concession details. You can do this via MyAccount or by calling 1300 115 866.

Controlled Load Electricity concession

The Controlled Load Electricity concession provides a 13% discount off controlled load or dedicated circuit tariffs to eligible customers.

The controlled load or dedicated circuit tariff applies to household electricity bills which is measured via a dual element electricity meter or dual element smart meter. The Controlled Load Electricity concession is available all year round.

To receive your Controlled Load Electricity concession you must provide us with your valid concession details. You can do this via MyAccount or by calling 1300 115 866.

Once you have provided us the valid concession details, we will automatically give you the concession if you are eligible.

Electricity Transfer Fee waiver

The Electricity Transfer Fee waiver provides a full waiver of applicable fee(s) normally paid when you organise a standard connection of electricity at a property.

To receive your Electricity Transfer Fee waiver you must provide us with your valid concession details. You can do this via MyAccount or by calling 1300 115 866.

Life support concession

The Life Support concession provides a discount on electricity bills where a household member uses an eligible life support machine. The discount is equal to the cost of 1,880 kilowatt (470 kilowatt per quarter) hours of electricity used each year, calculated using a general domestic tariff. The Life Support concession is available all year round.

Eligibility

You may be eligible for Life Support concession if you have one of the listed approved machines:

• Oxygen concentrators,
• Intermittent peritoneal dialysis machines and/or
• Haemodialysis machines.

Customers who have a life support machine or any other type of machine prescribed by a doctor for life support purposes, must contact us on 1300 115 866 to ensure life support details are recorded.

To be eligible for Life Support concession discount you must fulfill the following criteria:

• Hold a valid Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) issued by the Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, OR,
• Hold a valid Health Care Card (HCC) issued by Services Australia, OR,
• Hold a valid Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.
• A machine eligible for a Life Support Concession must use at least 1880 kilowatt hours per year.
• The account holder or another occupant in the household requires one or more of the eligible medical equipment(s) above to sustain life, AND,
• An application form signed by the patient’s doctor to verify the need for the specific in house life support equipment is returned to us.

To apply for this concession download or contact us and request the Life Support concession form. Please note the Life Support concession form is separate to the Life Support Registration form. You will still be required to complete the Life Support registration form to verify the use of Life Support equipment at your premises.

Details on returning it to us after it has been completed are included on the form.

Medical cooling concession

The Medical Cooling concession provides a 17.5% discount off electricity costs from 1 November to 30 April for concession cardholders who have a medical condition that affects their body’s ability to self-regulate temperature.

Pre-approved conditions are multiple sclerosis, lymphoedema, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, Post-polio Syndrome/Poliomyelitis or motor neurone disease. Applications for other conditions must be approved by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Eligibility

• Hold a valid Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) issued by the Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, OR,
• Hold a valid Health Care Card (HCC) issued by Services Australia or a valid Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.
• An application form signed by the patient’s doctor to verify the need for heating or cooling to regulate body temperature is to be returned to Lumo Energy.

To apply for this concession download or contact us and request the Medical Cooling concession form. Details on returning it to us after it has been completed are included on the form.

Excess Electricity concession

Customers receiving the Annual Electricity concession and exceed the a cap of $487.30(GST inclusive) may be eligible to receive the Excess Electricity concession.

The Excess Electricity concession is 17.5 % concession on electricity consumed above the cap level.

If you exceed the cap we will send you a form which must be completed and returned to the Department of Family, Fairness and Housing.

The Excess Energy Concession has an annual period of 1 December to 30 November.

If you are receiving the Life Support Concession or the Medical Cooling Concession as well as the Annual Electricity Concession, you are not required to apply for the Excess Electricity concession as you will automatically receive the concession should your electricity consumption reach the trigger level(s).

Excess Gas concession

Customers receiving the Winter Gas concession and exceed the a cap of $275.83 (GST inclusive) may be eligible to receive the Excess Gas concession.

The 17.5% concession on gas consumed above the cap level.

If you exceed the trigger level we will send you a form which must be completed and returned to the Department of Family, Fairness and Housing.

The Excess Gas concession is available from 1 May to 31 October each year.

If you are receiving the Life Support Concession or the Medical Cooling Concession as well as the Annual Gas Concession, you are not required to apply for the Excess Gas concession as you will automatically receive the concession should your gas consumption reach the trigger level(s).

Utility Relief Grant Scheme (URGS)

The Utility Relief Grant Scheme is designed to help eligible low-income Victorian customers pay overdue electricity or gas bills when experiencing unexpected hardship.

To be eligible, you must show that you have no way of paying the account without assistance, and meet one of the following criteria:

• You or someone in your house has experienced family violence.
• You have had a recent decrease in income, for example, lost your job.
• You have had high unexpected costs for essential items.
• The cost of shelter is more than 30% of your household income.

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing website has more information about this grant.

If you would like to apply for this grant, please contact us on 1300 115 866.

Non-Government or Community Assistance

Not everyone is eligible for government assistance but sometimes you may need a little extra help. Non-government and or community assistance can be available through local community service providers such as a community welfare organisations or financial counsellors.

To locate a help centre near you, please visit CISVic or the National Debt Helpline.

Some not for profit organisations you can contact to obtain more information on other assistance available to you are Anglicare, Salvation Army, Australian Red Cross, St Vincent De Paul Society.