How to slice hundreds off your energy bill by switching to solar.

Have you ever felt as though your energy provider doesn’t cater to your specific needs? Like no matter who you go with, the crux of their business models are all the same? That’s where solar energy company DC Power Co come in. They’re all about changing up the power game in a big way and the most exciting part is, they want you to be involved.

When I spoke to Emma Jenkin, one of the four founders of DC Power Co, I asked her to explain the company in one sentence. Here’s what she said: “We’re creating a new electricity retailer focused on providing a better service to help households save money.”

No matter who you are, the idea of being able to save money on your energy bill is undoubtedly a welcome one.

DC Power Co aims to build the power company of the future; one that is designed to empower those of us who use solar and reward us with more transparent bills, better feed-in tariffs, genuine guidance on how to get more out of our solar and wholesale top-up prices for when we need a little extra from the grid.

It's the first Australian energy retailer with a solar focus. And they're inviting us to be part of the revolution. For $50, people can own shares in the company, giving you a say in how it's run and allows you to share the profits. Aside from saving money, by becoming a stakeholder through their crowdsourced equity funding campaign, you're also investing in finding a more sustainable way for households to help the environment.

Need it explained a little more? So did we, so Jenkin answered all of our questions:

How is DC Power Co different to a traditional energy retailer?

“Households need a new model because the current model is all about selling you more energy. The traditional model makes more the more they sell you," Jenkin told Mamamia. "For solar households who generate their own electricity, your needs are completely at odds with this business model. Our business model is setup to be indifferent to how much you use so we can help you optimise which is how we save you money. That’s the fundamental difference.”

Do I need to already have solar panels installed to be a DC Power Co customer?

"No, you don't," Jenkin told us. "We will be a full electricity company. We call ourselves a solar-focused service company and that’s because when you’re solar you need more than just someone giving you electricity and that’s the transition that’s already started."

How will you help to educate customers about solar power?

“You might have solar but no-one has told you if it works or not. I’ve got solar on my house which is what partly brought me into this and I didn’t really know if my solar saved me money or not. I had to go to three different places to try and add it all up and I still wasn’t sure," Jenkin said.

“Most people just want to know to start off with: Is it working or not? Is it working optimally? And how can I make more money from it? One of the things we’re going to do is let people know which tariff structure would be best for them. You’ve got time of use, you’ve got single rate, you’ve got all these sorts of things and you’re asking, how do I pick?

“We will be taking your data and telling you simply. Part of our communication will start with the aim of always trying to help the household minimise their bills. It’s in our interest to do this all the time because we know that’s what will keep customers with us and that’s our whole intent.”

How much could I be saving on average using DC Power Co?

“If your solar system isn’t working, that’s probably costing you about $1000 a year. If you’re not using it optimally, that could be a couple of hundred a year. It depends on the household and how big a user you are.”

What are some of the specific benefits for families?

“Looking at my family, over summer I’m not going to pay a bill for over five or six months. Aside from saving families money it’s also about a sense of empowerment. It’s taking the power back. Right now there’s a transformation happening in the market and we’re offering an opportunity to try and get half of the share in that," Jenkin explained.

“Now if we don’t do this, the transition will happen more slowly and the opportunity may not be there again for households to get in and be part of the disruption. We will be at 50 percent solar in 30 years and we want households to get a share in that because at the moment they’re not going to.”

 How are the bills different to a traditional energy company?

“What we’re doing with our pricing model is we’re having a monthly fee and what that allows us to do is pass through energy wholesale price for customers. We will have great feed in tariffs which gives incentives people with solar," Jenkin said.

“Energy bills at the moment are really hard to work out and they’re not solar specific. So they don’t tell you how much you’ve made from your solar and how much you’re buying. We will have simple billing that really transparently shows how you’re doing on your solar and that tariff structure that you’ve selected.”

What’s the next step after you become an investor?

“We’re running the crowdsource funding campaign from March 15 to April 15. So we’re looking for 95,000 people to join us and help us build the company," Jenkin said.

“In the background we’ve spent two years between the four of us founders working out how to build this and depending on the numbers once you’ve got scale you can change this market. It will change the offers we’ll be able to get for batteries and a whole lot of different pieces and that can really result in a better deal for our investors and our customers."

Jenkin added that DC Power Co will also offer a Saving Guarantee, which will save you money on your energy bills when compared to your previous energy provider. They will also refund the difference on your bill plus an additional 10 percent.

So if you're ready to invest in an energy provider that wants to invest in you, there's never been a better time to get on board with this exciting new initiative from DC Power Co. For more information, visit DC Power Co's website now.

This content was created with thanks to our brand partner DC Power Co.

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