Horizon’s pilot project powers up

Port Hedland residents could save up to $300 a year on their power bills and businesses up to $1500 a year with Horizon Power’s new pricing pilot.

Over 400 Port Hedland residents and businesses have begun Horizon Power’s Power Ahead research pilot, which will allow residents and business owners to see their electricity usage. The pilot, which is a first in Australia, will allow participants to work collaboratively with Horizon Power to develop a new way of charging for electricity.

Similar to a mobile phone plan, Horizon Power hopes to offer this pricing model in the form of “Power Plans” where they will provide a peak allowance limit with a cost per week plus a cheaper per unit cost for electricity use.

Horizon Power managing director Frank Tudor said he hoped the pilot program would allow customers to have greater control over their electricity use.

“Customers will not be paying different rates during peak or off peak’ instead they will be able to choose an electricity plan just like they choose a mobile plan to meet their peak usage requirements,” he said.

“This will give our customers much more control and management of their power bills as they will know how much they pay each month through the plan.”

In the pilot, participants have individual electricity allowances set by Horizon Power that they must stay within during the peak period in order to earn financial incentives.

Horizon has also created a free Power Ahead app specifically to assist participants in their usage, allowing residents to track their electricity use and receive alerts and notifications to help them stay within their allow-ance.

Through the pilot and participant feedback, Horizon hopes to refine its proposed pricing plans to for possible future implementation across the country.