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Three easily achievable steps to control your energy spend this Christmas

Tis the season for big energy bills.

Tis the season for big energy bills. Photo: Getty

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, yet still light fills the rooms, left on by your spouse.

Without a doubt, Christmas is one of the most expensive times of the year for Aussies. When you add up the cost of presents, travelling to visit family, decorating and your Christmas feast, it’s easy to blow out your budget.

An uncommonly large energy bill can be an unwelcome Christmas surprise, especially for those hosting family and friends this year.

So to help you out, we’ve put together three quick, easy and actionable steps you can take to save:

1. Give your Christmas decorations an upgrade

We all have a set of lights we’ve been holding on to for far too long. Mine are a set of some lovely, primary coloured string lights that my family has had since before I was born.

But whether it’s nostalgia or just indifference that’s keeping you together, there’s a very good reason why you should break it off with your old Christmas lights.

Compared to older designs, LED Christmas lights use 90% less energy, and they’re cheap as chips to pick up. Better yet, you can grab some solar lights that won’t cost you anything to power.

If you just can’t say goodbye to your old lights, you can still control their energy usage with a modern powerboard. Higher-quality devices will regulate the current properly and ensure that you’re not letting electricity go to waste.

2. Host a retro Christmas

While it pays to modernise, battery-powered lights and decorations are an equally effective way to ease your power usage.

Better yet, grab an esky and fill it with ice on Christmas Day. Because you won’t be opening and closing the fridge and freezer all day, the temperature inside them will remain more stable. This will save you on the power you would use to cool them back down.

This Christmas we’re expecting morning showers in some of the country’s major cities, but once they’ve cleared you can always take your celebrations outdoors.

Darwin is the only major city expected to see higher temperatures than the mid-20s. The rest of us should be able to keep the air-conditioning off in favour of an afternoon breeze in the backyard.

3. Don’t be afraid of a better deal

A recent market analysis showed that at least 1 million Aussie households could be saving an easy $600 off their bills.

That’s how many households have never shopped for energy, and are therefore on the most expensive type of offer available, a standing offer.

On average, electricity prices have increased by 75% since 2009. In such an expensive time, standing offers can cost up to $1,000 more than those in the market.

You’ll be on a standing offer if the contract you signed up on has expired or if you’ve never changed plans.

Confusion is one of the biggest barriers to cheaper energy bills. But if you’re on a standing offer, you really can’t lose by comparing energy plans as you’re pretty much certain to save.

With Electricity & Gas you can compare energy plans in minutes and get cheaper power today.

We’ll present you with no markup plans from energy providers across Australia, making it easy to find a great deal in your area.

This Christmas, give yourself the gift of stress-less bills. Compare today and find out what you could be saving.

Here’s how you do it

Step 1: Visit Electricityandgas.com.au

Step 2: Once you select your preferred coverage options, you will have the opportunity to compare quotes from multiple health funds.

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