App to reduce power bills

Pilbara residents are lowering their electricity bills dollar by dollar after more than 620 consumers signed up for a power usage smartphone app.

Horizon Power’s MyPower app is in its demonstration phase and allows customers to monitor their electricity use in real time during peak periods.

Customers can use it with the new pricing plans Horizon has created to help regional users to reduce their electricity bills.

Resident and business owner Wayne Ness said he registered for the app — the first of its kind in Australia — at the start of the year.

“I’ve reduced my use and power bills by over half — I used near 16,000 units before Christmas and now I’m using less than 900,” he said.

“Before Christmas, I wasn’t using my air-con but then after downloading the app, I was able to track where my usage peaks were coming from — some old lights outside my house, incidentally — and then I was able to mould my usage to suit my lifestyle.”

Horizon Power managing director Frank Tudor said the new technology would give customers more control and choice.

“Technological innovation is changing what customers expect from utilities, from areas such as metering, billing and payment and outage management,” he said.