Antinuclear

GetUp and Powershop join forces to switch Australia to renewable energy

Powershop was ranked by Greenpeace as the greenest power company in Australia. As a generator, the company only produces renewable energy through its wind farms in Victoria and South Australia. It buys carbon offsets from UN-certified projects for all the electricity it creates and sells at no additional cost to the end user. It also lets consumers buy certified Green Power from projects such as the Hepburn Wind Farm (a community project in Victoria), LMS Energy (which creates gas from landfill), and CSR’s renewable energy project.

Powershop is a disruptive player because it offers customers greater visibility and control over their electricity use with no lock-in contracts.

Why GetUp activists are the new sales agents for electricity retailer Powershop Business Review Weekly Caitlin Fitzsimmons Online editor 26 March 2015 Online electricity retailer Powershop has a novel way of winning new customers – getting online activist group GetUp to do the sales and marketing for them.

Powershop Australia chief executive Ben Burge says more than 6,000 of Powershop’s 38,000 Australian customers – about 16 per cent – have come directly via GetUp to date.

“Of course it’s helpful to have someone other than the power company talking to customers about what’s a good choice of power company,” Burge says. “The great thing about working with GetUp is they are incredibly enthusiastic and that passion comes through – we don’t ever want it to be a scripted thing.”

GetUp chief executive Sam McLean says the goal is to get 50,000 people to switch before the annual general meetings of the big three power companies, Origin, Energy Australia and AGL, later this year. As of 11.30am on Thursday, GetUp’s internal figures showed it had switched 6,902 customers in total and was adding about 150 a day via both online and telesales.

The switching campaign is part of GetUp’s Better Power push to champion climate change action and renewable energy. The big three energy companies, which control 75 per cent of the energy retail market between them, are campaigning heavily to abolish or reduce the Renewable Energy Target. By contrast, Powershop strongly supported retaining the target in its submission to the recent government review.

“It seemed to us that as consumers we’re handing over hundreds of dollars to companies lobbying against our values and against climate action and we wanted to find a way to use our power as consumers positively rather than supporting companies doing the wrong things in regards to our climate,” McLean says.

“It’s not enough just to criticise the companies we don’t like, we have to give people a positive alternative and show these companies that they’re actually losing customers by taking the stance they are.”

Powershop pays GetUp for every supporter acquired through the campaign, with the money going to the Better Power campaign to fund further renewable energy activism. McLean says the amount varies by customer, depending on how the customer was contacted and how long they stay with Powershop.

He says the relationship with Powershop is not exclusive and GetUp would be open to working with other energy companies that meet stringent environmental standards.

“Ultimately we’re not about supporting one company, we’re about changing the market,” McLean says. “We’ll hold Powershop accountable by continuing to monitor how satisfied GetUp customers are and how they continue to approach renewable energy. Greenpeace have rated them as greenest energy company in Australia but if they went and invested in coal fired power I think they know GetUp members would be quick to move.”………

Powershop was ranked by Greenpeace as the greenest power company in Australia. As a generator, the company only produces renewable energy through its wind farms in Victoria and South Australia. It buys carbon offsets from UN-certified projects for all the electricity it creates and sells at no additional cost to the end user. It also lets consumers buy certified Green Power from projects such as the Hepburn Wind Farm (a community project in Victoria), LMS Energy (which creates gas from landfill), and CSR’s renewable energy project.

Powershop is a disruptive player because it offers customers greater visibility and control over their electricity use with no lock-in contracts. Consumers are given a discount to take their own meter readings and report it via the Powershop online portal or mobile app. Burge says this engagement also encourages customers to change their behaviour and leads to lower consumption………http://www.brw.com.au/p/marketing/retailer_getup_activists_powershop_RUM8GOhn4nVjJbDREhyrFO

March 28, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy