A new Galaxy report has revealed that while almost half of Australians have actively sought information on domestic energy consumption, only 14 per cent can correctly identify what contributes to their household energy consumption.

Origin Energy’s Executive General Manager, Phil Craig, said that the findings are a wakeup call for an industry that has failed to engage and inform its customer base.

Mr Craig concluded that the time has come for the sector to move on from antiquated methods of communication with customers.

"Hundred-page reports, broad ranging websites, colourful bill messages and inserts, and beautifully filmed television commercials are not working. There is plenty of debate about energy, but the industry has not kept up with how people consume information. As a consequence, while our job is to keep the lights on, when it comes to information we've left our customers somewhat in the dark, Mr Craig said.

As a response to the declining engagement levels, Mr Craig said Origin will now launch a ‘major upgrade’ to how it communicates via digital and social media channels.

Core to the strategy will be a new knowledge hub - Energy Explorer - which will be housed on the Origin website and is designed to be a key resource for customers seeking more information about energy. The site deliberately avoids industry jargon to ensure it is consumer friendly and helpful.

Getting customers and the community to take notice, and starting the energy conversation, is critical to success.

"We turned to the creator of the short, entertaining fact - Fantales", said Mr Craig. "We saw a huge opportunity to bring a modern twist to this time honoured Australian tradition, and we have launched 25 lolly-sized Origin Energy Tales featuring interesting and amusing stories and facts about energy," Mr Craig said.

The core findings of the Galaxy survey were:

  • 72 per cent of Australians consider themselves knowledgeable about energy and almost half of them (47 per cent) have conducted research on how to manage their energy use. However, there is still widespread confusion about what is contributing to household energy use and costs.
  • 32 per cent of Australians believe that cooling (air conditioners and fans) contribute the most to their energy consumption. The reality is that space cooling is on average only responsible for 6 per cent of household electricity usage. Appliances, which are on average responsible for more than half of household electricity usage, were correctly identified by only 14 per cent of Australians as the greatest contributor.
  • Consumers are also divided about who is responsible for the rising cost of electricity - with 17 per cent of Australians pointing the finger at electricity distribution companies and 26 per cent blaming electricity retailers.
  • Searching for tips to save money (71 per cent) is much more popular than searching for information on green energy (33 per cent).
  • Searching for tips to save money (71 per cent) is much more popular than searching for information on green energy (33 per cent).