Alinta Energy

Alinta offers electricity and gas in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, and natural gas only in Western Australia. It does not operate in Tasmania, the ACT or the Northern Territory.

The main plans are Home Saver (simple, low rates), Carbon Balance (a discounted green add-on), Solar Balance (for solar homes) and the Standing Offer based on the Default Market Offer. In Western Australia, Alinta offers distinct gas plans including Fair Go 40 with 40% off gas usage rates.

Alinta does not retail or install solar panels, but it offers a standard solar feed-in tariff across its electricity plans for homes with a solar PV system. The maximum feed-in tariff is up to 10c/kWh in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. The Solar Balance plan uses a stepped rate of 10c/kWh for the first 10kW, then 4c/kWh in QLD, 5c/kWh in NSW and 3.3c/kWh in VIC.

Alinta's reviews are mixed. On ProductReview the retailer scores around 1.8/5 from over 1,300 ratings, with most leaving one star, and on Trustpilot around 2.2/5 from a small sample. Common themes are sudden price rises, billing issues and difficulty reaching customer service. As ever, disgruntled customers are more likely to leave a review than happy ones.

For NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia call 13 39 08. In Western Australia call 13 13 58. There are separate lines for connections, moving, complaints and payment assistance — see the contact page. You can also manage your account in Alinta MyAccount.

All Alinta electricity and gas customers get access to Alinta Rewards, with discounts of up to 50% on movie tickets, theme parks, attractions, electronics and shopping, plus exclusive experiences and competitions. There are no discounts on everyday essentials such as groceries or fuel.

You can pay online by credit card 24/7, by direct debit, through BPAY (biller code 168 930, or WA 2733), by phone (13 37 02, or 1300 360 900 for WA), in person at Australia Post or postbillpay.com.au, and by mail. There are no additional fees for paper bills or credit card payments, including AMEX.

Bill Smoothing, also called SmoothPay, lets you spread your estimated annual Alinta bill into smaller, regular instalments instead of one large quarterly bill. You can set it up when registering for direct debit or in your MyAccount dashboard. If you have a smart meter, you might be eligible for monthly billing cycles.

You can sign up online or over the phone. Complete the online application, select your state and provide your details and (if renting) your rental agreement. Alinta runs a credit check, sends a welcome pack, then after the 10-business-day cooling-off period your distributor reads your meter and your account transfers across. This can take 10 to 90 days depending on when the meter was last read.