Last updated: December 2023
What does the Canstar Blue gas comparison tool compare?
Canstar Blue’s gas comparison tool, allows consumers to compare the estimated annual price of a plan against its included features for each of these three main categories:
- Plan Flexibility – fees and charges, contract specific terms, and additional services.
- Billing and Payments – statement and billing options, payment options and payment frequencies
- Customer Service and Support – enquiries, self service, customer satisfaction, and research, tools & education
What are the types of plans compared on the gas comparison tool?
Canstar Blue’s gas comparison tool compares single rate plans. The following eligibility criteria are applied for single rate gas plans.
| Tariff Type | Description | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|---|
|
Single Rate |
Standard residential retail single rate gas tariff for general residential mains gas supply.
Consumers pay the same price for each Megajoule (MJ) used, or, a flat usage rate is charged for ‘blocks’ of gas consumed. Usage could be limited to amount per day, month, quarter, or season and may include a second block with a different usage rate applied. |
Plan must be available under a single rate tariff which may be called:
|
How are gas usage estimates determined?
Canstar Blue’s gas comparison tool is based on an estimated annual electricity usage for each distributor, which is derived from the average usages that are advertised by a selection of retailers. The usage estimates are as follows:
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| State/Territory | Distributor Region | Annual Usage* |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | Evoenergy | 33,200 MJ |
| NSW | AGN
Jemena Gas |
18,800 MJ
18,800 MJ |
| QLD | AGN
Allgas Energy |
8,300 MJ
8,300 MJ |
| SA | AGN | 14,800 MJ |
| VIC | AGN
Ausnet Multinet |
40,500 MJ
40,500 MJ 40,500 MJ |
| WA | ATCO | 6,300 Units |
*MJ = Megajoules, and a Unit of gas is equivalent to 3.6 MJ.
How does it work? How is the display order determined?
The plan’s display order (Value Rank) is determined by the Price Score and the Feature Score. Canstar ranks Gas plans based on value for money. The Value Rank takes into account a plans’ estimated annualised price (the ‘Price Score’) and features offered as compared to the market (the ‘Feature Score’). The plans that are lower in cost and have a higher Feature Score will be ranked higher than plans which have higher cost and a lower Feature Score.
The Value Rank incorporates a Price Score weighted at 80% and a Feature Score weighted at 20%. Below is an example of how the Value Rank score is derived, using the figures from the Price Score and Feature Score.
Price Score
The Price Score is based on the estimated annual price of a plan. The estimated annual price includes usage charges, supply charges, and any discounts included in the plan. The lowest cost plan will receive the top score with all other plans receiving a score relative to the lowest cost plan.
The following is a general representation for calculating the estimated annual price of a plan:
The following assumptions are applied in the calculation of estimated annual price:
| Period | Number of days in the current financial year (ending 30 June). |
|
Usage Charges |
Applied against the usage assumption with consideration to (where applicable):
|
| Supply Charges | Applied against the number of days in the year (per Period). |
|
Discounts |
Where a discount is applicable they are applied against the appropriate (supply, usage or whole bill) charges.
Guaranteed discounts are applied against the appropriate charges to the full period considered. Conditional discounts, such as direct debit, on-time payment, electronic statement and other conditional discounts are applied against the appropriate charges and are assumed to be met 75% of the time. |
| Additional Costs | Additional cost of plan within the annual cost period which includes any annual fees, monthly fees or membership fees. |
Feature Score
Canstar Blue’s Energy Feature Scores use a unique methodology that compares the functionality and flexibility of gas providers and their plans. Over 100 features are captured on each plan and grouped into three categories as outlined below:
- Plan Flexibility – fees and charges, contract specific terms, and additional
- Billing and Payments – statement and billing options, payment options and payment frequencies
- Customer Service and Support – enquiries, self service, customer satisfaction, and research, tools & education
The plan with the highest Feature Score is allocated the maximum score, with all remaining products within the profile scored against it.
| Description | Weight | Examples of Features Captured |
|---|---|---|
| Plan Flexibility | 30% | |
| Contract Terms | 70% | Contract and fixed-price period. |
| Additional Inclusions | 30% | Rewards programs and bonus sign-up incentives. |
| Billing and Payments | 30% | |
| Payments | 60% | Payment options, payment and account fees and charges. |
| Billing | 40% | Billing options, frequency, alerts and notifications. |
| Customer Service and Support | 40% | |
| Enquiries | 35% | Availability of call centre, store, online support, and other support services such as hearing impaired, vision impaired, and interpreter services. |
| Self Service | 35% | Accessibility for customers to manage their account online; accessibility of bill statements (including historical), and usage insights. |
| Customer Satisfaction | 20% | Raw customer service score from Canstar Blue’s customer satisfaction rating (if no rating, then median score). |
| Research, Tools & Education | 10% | Accessibility to educational material, tools and calculators, FAQs, and community forums. |
The feature categories are displayed on Canstar Blue’s comparison tool as a rounded number between 1 & 10. The unweighted scores of the feature categories are used for this display purpose.
Does Canstar rate all products in the market?
We endeavour to include the majority of product providers in the market and to compare the product features most relevant to consumers in our ratings. However, this process is not always possible and it may be that not every product in the market is included in the rating nor every feature compared that is relevant to you.
How often are plans reviewed for the gas comparison tool?
Canstar monitors changes on an ongoing basis; the Value Rank, Price Score, and Feature Scores of each plan are calculated every day.
How are the plans ordered?
Canstar ranks gas plans based on value for money. Whereby, the Value Rank takes into account a plans’ estimated annual price and features offered as compared to the market. The plans that are lower in price and have a higher Feature Score will be ranked higher than plans which have higher price and a lower Feature Score.
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