Origin Energy: Review and Pricing Plans

How much does Origin Energy cost for businesses?

For small businesses, Origin Energy currently provides two plans:

• Origin Business Go Variable, a 12-month variable rate tariff
• Origin Business Basic, a no-frills, fixed price tariff with no end date

Origin gives the following prices for these two energy plans (NB: these prices are based on a business that’s based in Sydney, and they include the discounts mentioned in this review):

*For a small business using 10,000 kWh per year, on a flat rate tariff in the Ausgrid network.

What are the benefits of using Origin Energy?

To get us started, let’s take a look at some of the best things about Origin Energy. If you’re looking for key reasons to go with this business energy supplier, here they are:

✓ Good discount on one plan

The first thing that cost-savvy business owners will want us to note is Origin Energy’s discount on its Businesses Go Variable.

Should you sign up for it, you’ll get a 10% discount off the reference price as standard. You should be wary, though, that this will only last for the first 12 months of your contract.

✓ No lock-in contracts or exit fees

Origin is flexible with its business energy contracts – you won’t be tied into your contract and, if you choose to switch suppliers down the line, you won’t be charged any exit fees to do so. This seems like a simple thing, but it’s one of those benefits that can give you peace of mind – which, for a business owner, is worth its metaphorical weight in gold.

✓ Solar energy expertise

Origin does some excellent work in the solar sector, helping businesses to get started with their own solar energy generation.

If you’re interested in making the most of that Aussie sunshine, Origin’s process is pretty simple. The company’s solar experts will consult with you, discussing your business’s electricity needs and roof size, as well as Origin’s suitable commercial solar products. They’ll then give you a quote and, if you’re happy, a contract.

Next up, Origin’s solar experts will inspect your premises, and install and activate the system. Helpfully, they’ll also handle any applications you may need to submit to your local council. Overall, the process should take approximately nine to 15 weeks.

Origin also promises to provide ongoing support via a dedicated team. You can opt to pay for your solar system on a 24-month term, a five-year term, or a customised payback plan – from 30 to 60 months – for systems worth $30,000 or less. The latter option is interest-free with 5% deposit required when you pay by credit card.

Another pro that stands in Origin’s favour is that it operates a feed-in tariff, which means you can sell any unneeded electricity that your solar system generates back to the grid. We have it on good authority that the amount Origin will pay you for your excess electricity (in other words, its export solar pricing) is above the state average.

Is Origin Energy right for my business?

What’s best for one business may not be best for the next – it all depends on your company’s values, needs, and budget. Chances are, you’re asking at least one of the three key questions we’ll address in this section.

“I want the greenest energy possible – will I get that with Origin?”

You might be satisfied with Origin, but there are greener options out there. Origin is pretty strong in some areas of environmental friendliness. Let’s recap:

• Origin invests in demand response management and supports local energy trading
• Origin can help you to set up a renewable solar energy system for your business, and will pay more than average for your excess solar electricity

However, when you look into the sources of Origin’s energy supply, things start to look a little questionable. This is mostly because Origin’s baseload station – in other words, the one that provides power day and night, and which Origin invests heavily in – runs on coal seam gas (CSG), which is extracted via a controversial and environmentally harmful process known as fracking.

It’s not all bad, of course: Origin does also work with two hydropower stations and two solar farms – but unlike competitors such as Powershop and Diamond Energy, Origin’s percentage of energy supplied from these renewable sources is remarkably low.

That said, Origin has made commitments for a greener future, including plans to chop its carbon emissions in half by 2032. By 2050, the company also plans to have exited its coal investments, and achieved net-zero emissions.

“I’m looking for the cheapest energy rates – is Origin the answer?”

This is a difficult one to answer definitively. Energy rates change depending on where in the country you’re based – the cheapest business energy supplier in Victoria, for example, may be beaten on price by another supplier in South Australia.

We can say that Origin Energy’s discounts stack up well and make its prices pretty competitive. But is it the cheapest energy supplier for your business? In this review, we can’t answer that with certainty.

What we can do, though, is point you in the direction of our free quote-matching service, which is designed to help you find the cheapest, most suitable business energy supplier for your company.

Simply answer a handful of questions about your energy needs (it only takes a minute), and our trusted broker will seek out the very best offer for you, and provide you with a personalized quote. It’s quick, easy, and free, and it saves Expert Market customers an average of $1,837 per year on their business energy bills.

“Customer service is important to me – is Origin a good choice?”

Origin has a Melbourne-based business service team, whom you can contact via phone, live chat, or social media. Now, the best way to find out how helpful, friendly, and efficient a customer service team can really be is to contact them yourself. But the next best thing is to read reviews from customers who have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

So, to get a flavour of Origin’s customer service prowess, let’s explore some real insights from real customers…

What do Origin Energy’s business customers say?

First up, a caveat: when sourcing customer reviews of energy suppliers, it’s famously difficult to discern business customer reviews from residential customer reviews. So, we’ve handpicked the following reviews because they tell us the most useful things about the experience that Origin gives to its customers, which should be relevant regardless of the type of customer they’ve come from.

Now that’s been cleared up, let’s get into the nitty gritty. Across the web, Origin’s reviews are… mixed. On Trustpilot, the supplier has a fantastic overall score of 4.3 out of 5, from over 800 reviews. Similarly, on Finder, it scores 4.1 out of 5, from over 40 reviews. Meanwhile, over on productreview.com.au, it scores a miserable 1.4 out of 5, from over 2,100 reviews. So it’s not quite a clean sweep.

But what exactly are these customers saying? Here are some of the most helpful comments we found: