Regional Victoria will soon be home to Alinta Energy’s newest call centre, with the retailer announcing it is bringing its customer service team entirely back onshore.
The move by the power retailer is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the region, as well as providing great customer service along the east coast, said Alinta Energy Managing Director and CEO, Jeff Dimery.
“For 20 years, Alinta Energy has been making energy fairer and more affordable for Australians. Now we’re establishing a new customer contact centre in Victoria so we can provide even better service and support to our customers,” he said.
Scheduled to open mid-2021, the move will make Alinta Energy one of the biggest employers in the Latrobe Valley.
“We’ve chosen the Valley as our operational hub because we already have strong ties with the area through Loy Yang B,” Mr Dimery said.
Loy Yang B is a power station owned by Alinta Energy’s parent company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and is the third largest thermal power station in Victoria, delivering up to 20 per cent of the state’s electricity needs.
Mr Dimery added: “We’re investing in Australian jobs, and I think our customers will enjoy speaking to someone locally when they call us. We’re making this investment because it’s the right thing to do for our customers, and because we want to cement our local operations and help create jobs and investment in regional Victoria.”
Canstar Blue Editor-in-Chief, Simon Downes, said having local customer support available is a huge drawcard for many, but doesn’t guarantee superior service.
“While some people will naturally prefer a local call centre, it doesn’t necessarily mean a better overall experience when it comes to dealing with your energy provider,” he said.
“Better customer service is reliant on power retailers training staff properly regardless of location. Most larger companies employ call centre staff outside of Australia to handle calls during busy or unsociable periods, like public holidays, overnight and weekends. Whether or not an energy provider has employees taking calls overseas shouldn’t matter if they can provide a good level of service that satisfies customers’ needs.
“That said, having a friendly, local voice on the other end of the line is important to a lot of people and good customer service is a major factor in determining satisfaction with an energy company. It has been a theme in recent years that some of the energy providers that invest in local call centres are frequently rated best for customer satisfaction.”
Last year, Alinta Energy reported unprecedented call waiting times due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which may have influenced the retailer’s decision to move back to Australia.
Alinta Energy’s new contact centre will be relocated from Manila in the Philippines. The electricity and gas retailer currently operates an existing call centre in Perth, servicing natural gas customers across Western Australia.
Alinta Energy Prices
Here are the Alinta Energy plans on our database for NSW. These are products from a referral partner†. These costs are based on the Ausgrid network in Sydney but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 3911kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are the Alinta Energy plans on our database for VIC. These are products from a referral partner†. These costs are based on the Citipower network in Melbourne but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are the Alinta Energy plans on our database for SEQ. These are products from a referral partner†. These costs are based on the Energex network in Brisbane but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4613kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are the Alinta Energy plans on our database for South Australia. These are products from a referral partner†. These costs are based on the SA Power network in Adelaide but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4011kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Compare Electricity Providers
Having local support may be high on your priority list when it comes to an electricity provider, but how does Alinta Energy prices fair against a stack of others? Check out some of the latest deals on our database below.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Ausgrid network in Sydney but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 3911kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Citipower network in Melbourne but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Energex network in Brisbane but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4613kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the SA Power network in Adelaide but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4011kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
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