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Demand response is when electricity consumers temporarily shift or reduce their energy consumption in response to high demand on the grid. It’s used successfully in lots of countries around the world to manage peak demand and the risks it causes – such as power outages.

What’s my Baseline?

Your usage reduction is measured by an algorithm that calculates your usage data from the last 14 days to create a profile of what your usage would be at a certain time. This is your Baseline. Your Baseline is what your usage would have been if you hadn’t responded to an Event. We then use your actual usage data for the day of the Curb Your Power Event to figure out if you were able to reduce your usage enough to hit your Curb Target.

What is an Event?

An Event is when there is high demand on the grid. When there is an Event, we may get in touch with you asking you to reduce your power usage to help decrease this demand. An Event can last anywhere between 1-4 hours.

Demand response banner Powershop Australia

Curb Your Power is Powershop’s program, where Powershop customers can help reduce demand on the grid by curbing their power usage at certain peak demand times.

Important to note: Curb Your Power is only open to Victorian customers with a smart meter. If you are in another state or if there is any reason why turning off certain appliances would be harmful to you or anyone at your home or business, you are unable to join Curb Your Power.

Register to join Curb Your Power today

Are you an existing customer in Victoria?

The Curb Your Power program is currently only open to Powershop customers in Victoria.

To join Powershop, click the Join Now button above.

Already a Powershop customer, but still want to curb your power? Make sure you have a smart meter so you can use our app and usage tools to monitor your usage.

Already got a smart meter? These energy saving tips will help you save even more.

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Terms and Conditions

Your ability to participate in Powershop Australia Pty Ltd’s (Powershop) demand response program (Curb Your Power) is subject to your acceptance of the following terms and conditions.

1. Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in Curb your Power you must:

(a) be a Powershop customer in Victoria;
(b) have a smart meter;
(c) register to Curb Your Power via powershop.com.au/demand-response-curb-your-power/ and agree to the terms and conditions; and
(d) not be or live with someone who is a vulnerable customer (see below).

Once you are registered to participate in Curb Your Power, to be eligible to participate in an Event you must have been a Powershop customer for at least 45 days prior to the Event.

A vulnerable customer is a person who would be adversely affected if they were to reduce their electricity usage. Vulnerable customers may include those on life support, the elderly, disabled or sick.

2. Explanation of Curb Your Power
Curb Your Power is a demand response program designed to reduce demand on the National Electricity Market (NEM). Powershop will be notified by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) of an upcoming peak demand period. If you participate in Curb Your Power, during a peak demand period you may be asked by Powershop to reduce your energy usage for a certain period of time (up to a maximum of four (4) hours) (Event). There will a maximum of ten (10) Events each year.

You will be rewarded if you meet the Curb Target (find out more about the Curb Target here) during the Event (Event).

By participating in Curb Your Power you acknowledge and agree:

(a) You must not participate in any other demand response program.
(b) Powershop may notify you of an Event up to ten (10) times each year.
(c) An Event may last between one (1) and four (4) hours.
(d) You may be given a minimum of one (1) hour or a maximum of seven (7) days’ notice before an Event.
(e) An Event may occur anytime between 10am to 10pm on Monday to Friday.
(f) If you participate in an Event, Powershop will determine at its absolute discretion whether you have met the Curb Target. Find out more about the Curb Target and how your reduction in usage during an Event is calculated here: powershop.com.au/demand-response-how-to-curb-your-power/.
(g) The reward for meeting your Curb Target may change from time to time and residential and business customers may have different rewards for participation.
(h) You will be notified whether you have met your Curb Target within 7 business days of the relevant Event.
(i) You determine at your absolute discretion whether to participate in an Event and you can opt-out at any time by emailing curbyourpower@powershop.com.au.

3. Provision of Information
By participating in Curb Your Power, you agree to Powershop:

(a) providing your meter data and National Meter Identifier (NMI) to government agencies including but not limited to, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Behavioral Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) and AEMO.
(b) contacting you via SMS for the purposes of Curb Your Power on the mobile number entered on the Curb Your Power registration form.

4. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
(a) By participating in Curb Your Power you acknowledge and agree that you are not, and do not live with, someone who is a vulnerable customer.
(b) In no event shall Powershop be held liable to you for any damage, claim or loss arising directly or indirectly from Curb Your Power or an Event, or in any way in relation to your participation in Curb Your Power or an Event, including, but not limited to, any consequential loss (including by reason of the negligence of a party).

So, how does this Curb Your Power thing actually work?

When there is a peak demand (which usually happens as a result of extreme weather events), Powershop will send Curb Your Power participants an SMS asking them to voluntarily curtail their usage for a set period of time – no more than four hours. If you successfully hit your Curb target (which we promise is pretty easy – it’s just a 10% reduction on your or if you're a solar customer you need to reduce your usage by 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event), then you’ll be rewarded with a $10 power credit.

What do I have to do to participate and how do I do it?

1 Register

Opt-in to the program by registering above. Even if you register, there’s absolutely no obligation to participate when there is an Event.

2 A few days before the Event (note: we won’t always have this much time to warn you)

Powershop will be informed when a demand response Event is likely, and we will send you an SMS informing you that an Event may be happening in the near future.

3 On the day of the event

  • We will let you know as soon as we can, but at least 1 hour before the Event, by sending you an SMS letting you know the Event is happening and how long the Event will last. Check out all the simple ways you can curb your power here.
  • When the Event starts - we will send you an SMS to let you know to start curbing your power.
  • When the Event ends - we’ll send you an SMS to let you know you can stop curbing your power.

4 A few days later

  • We will update you with the results of the Curb Your Power Event and if you successfully hit your 'Curb Target', you will be rewarded with a power credit.
Curb Your Power – all the important details summed up in a table
  Min Max
Warning time before an Event 1 hour 7 days
Length of an Event 1 hour 4 hours
Events per year 2 10
Events day & time Monday-Friday 10am-10pm (an Event will not occur outside of these times)
  Residential Business
Curb Target
  • 10% or 1 kWh (reduction on your Baseline)
  • For solar customers: 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event.
  • 10% or 1-2 kWh (reduction on your Baseline)
  • For solar customers: 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event.
Customer Reward $10 power credit for hitting your Curb Target. $10-$200 power credit for hitting the Curb Target tiers
Bonus reward Between $150-$900 additional account credit for an average reduction of 5kWh up to 30kWh if you’ve taken part in all of the Events across the year.

Got more questions? Hopefully they’re all answered below.

When will I be asked to curb my power?

Curb Your Power will go live from 1 December 2017. AEMO (the Australian Energy Market Operator) will determine when power needs to be curbed. An Event is most likely to happen when the grid is under strain or high demand, or when usage outstrips supply, because too many people are using electricity at the same time. For example, on the hottest day of summer when lots of people get home from work and put on their air-con at the same time.

Why should I do it?

For about 10 to 15 hours a year the network’s infrastructure (poles and wires) is not able to handle the demand for electricity – think really hot days when everyone is blasting their air con. AEMO can either shut down certain areas of the grid (planned blackouts) to ensure that nothing catastrophic happens or spend exorbitant amounts of money upgrading the grid so it can withstand those few hours a year when electricity demand reaches its highest - which in the long run will have an impact on your bill. A more suitable option would be to ask people to use less during those times. It’s an easy way to help out, its effective and you could also get some power credits if you curb your power successfully.

I don’t think I can reduce my usage by enough to hit my Curb Target.

That’s why we have set your Curb Target as 10% of your Baseline for non-solar customers. So all you need to do is reduce a little and you can participate. For you big users, if 10% is a lot, all you need is a reduction of 1 kWh each hour of the Event.

For customers with solar, you just need to reduce your usage by 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event.

Can I participate if I’m a business?

Definitely. Powershop business customers can join the Curb Your Power program. The Curb Target and reward for businesses is different to residential customers. See the table below for business reduction details.

Reduction amount (kWh each hour of Event) Reward
10% or 1-2 $10
2-5 $20
5-10 $50
10-20 $100
20+ $200

Hey, I heard there’s a bonus reward. How do I get that?

For both business and residential customers, if you successfully participate in 100% of Events, you can earn a bonus reward. See the table below for details.

Average reduction each Event (kWh) Reward (power credits)
≥ 5 $150
≥ 10 $300
≥ 20 $600
≥ 30+ $900

Why can’t I join if I’m in NSW/South East Queensland?

Curb Your Power is launching in Victoria first. When we have more info about other states, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, why don’t you get a free smart meter on us if you don’t already have one already? Having a smart meter is a requirement for Curb Your Power. You can register interest for a smart meter here.

Ready to get started?

Check out this page for all our handy hints and tips to make sure you can curb and be rewarded!

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