Curb Your Power

How to Curb Your Power

How to curb your power

If you’ve received a message from us asking you to curb your power, you’re in the right place – you should find all the info you need to make sure you can take part and earn rewards.

When the Event starts, reduce your power usage as much, and as safely, as you can for the course of the Event to meet your Curb Target. Do not turn off any vital appliances or devices.

If you’re just interested in how the Curb Your Power program works, this info is also for you!

What is my Curb Target?

To hit your Curb Target, you must:

Reduce your power usage by at least 10% of your Baseline, or
Reduce your usage by at least 1kW for each hour of the Event, or
Reduce your usage by at least 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event if you have solar.

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.

Ways you can curb your power

Curbing your power doesn’t mean sitting quietly in the dark for an hour or two with all the appliances switched off until the Event is over. Participating can be as easy as doing your washing after the Event, or powering down the house and heading out for soup instead.

Here are just a few ways you can curb your power:

Electric and split system heaters use a lot of power. Pre-heating your house if possible and then turning off your heater before the Event is a great way to curb. Otherwise, you could turn down your heater's temperature.

2kWh
is what heaters can use every hour

Dishwasher

Not running your dishwasher during an Event could mean you reduce usage by around 1kWh. What more of an excuse do you need to delay doing the dishes?

1-2kWh
per cycle

Washing machine

Washing machines and dryers are BIG energy guzzlers. Delay doing your washing if you'd usually do it during the time of an Event.

0.5-1kWh
per cycle

Pool pump

Switching your pool pump off (if you have a pool – lucky you) during an Event could be all you need to get the minimum reduction needed. Just remember to turn it back on again!

1-2kWh
every hour

Electric oven

An electric oven can use up to 1kWh every hour, so why not use the BBQ or cook dinner a little earlier or later.

1kWh
every hour

TV

Plasma TVs use about 0.4kWh while LCDs use about half that. Read a book or listen to a podcast instead (just don't charge your phone - that'll use about 0.03kWh).

0.3kWh
every hour of the Bachelor we know you pretend you don’t watch

Lights

Everyone knows you should turn the lights off when you leave a room. Turning off 4 halogen down lights during an Event can reduce your usage by 0.2kWh.

0.05kWh
A single halogen downlight can use 0.05kWh every hour

Hair dryer

Let your hair air dry - it's better for your hair and not using it for 10 minutes will save you 0.25kW.

0.25kWh
for 10 minutes

Microwave

We don’t think you’d be using your microwave for a whole hour, but even if you use it for 5 minutes to heat up last night’s take away, that’s about 0.12kWh.

0.12kWh
to heat up last night’s pizza

The above figures were estimated using:
Victorian Energy Saver appliance calculator
Sustainability Victoria appliance calculator

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.

FAQs

What do I get if I hit my Curb Target?

If you achieve the target reduction you will receive a $10 power credit on your Powershop account, which can be used to buy Powerpacks in the Shop.

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

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

What if I participate in an Event but I’m not successful? Will I still be compensated?

If you didn’t hit your Curb Target you will not be able to claim a power credit. We have set the Curb Target as an achievable figure, so if you don’t hit it first time, check out the info above for tips to help you reduce your usage next time, and feel free to get in touch on Facebook to chat with us if you need help. And remember, if you attempted to hit your Curb Target then you’ve likely reduced your usage, which means you’ve saved money!

I didn’t receive an SMS to curb my power?

We require you to have been a customer for at least 45 days before you can participate in an Event. If you haven’t, then we would not have sent you an SMS. Or, you may have registered your mobile number incorrectly. Email us at curbyourpower@powershop.com.au with your correct mobile number.

What if I am away for the entire day when an Event happens, so I’m not using any power? Does that count as participating?

If you are away for consecutive days then our calculation will assume your Baseline is low so you may not be considered a successful participant. Because we calculate your Baseline based on your usage during the day leading up to the Event, to successfully participate, you have to have been using power in the hours leading up to the Event.

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 a percentage. So all you need to do is reduce a little and you can participate. For you big power users, if 10% is still a lot, all you need is a reduction of 1 kWh each hour of the Event. And for customers with solar, you just need to reduce your usage by 0.05 kW for each hour of the Event.

What if I can’t participate in an Event?

That is totally fine, your participation is always voluntary. If you would like to opt out of the program totally you can do so by emailing curbyourpower@powershop.com.au

How do demand response programs like Curb Your Power support renewables?

Due to the intermittent nature of renewables there may be times when renewable energy will not be able to cover high demand periods. Currently, fast acting generators like gas and diesel plants are used as backups during these times. If demand response is used correctly, there will be less need to use fossil fuels as backup and allowing the integration of more renewable energy into the grid.

Keen to register or still have questions? Click here

Not yet a Powershop customer? Join us so you can participate in future demand response programs, or simply because you want to be with a better power company.

Want a smart meter so you can take part in future demand response programs? Get one for no upfront cost here.