An Expert’s Guide to Jacana Energy
Jacana Energy is a government-owned electricity retailer in the Northern Territory. It is responsible for producing and retailing power to homes and businesses across an area of more than 1.3 million square kilometres.
With the energy market still regulated in the Northern Territory, it can be difficult to determine what options are available to bill-payers. In this Canstar Blue article, we will outline the services offered by Jacana Energy, as well as any important contact or pricing information from this retailer.
On this page we’ll cover:
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Jacana Energy expert guide
Despite the retail energy market in the Northern Territory being open to competition since 2010, few providers have made any moves, allowing for state-government owned retailers, like Jacana Energy to dominate the market. This is because electricity prices for residents and businesses that consume less than 750 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year in the Northern Territory are still regulated by the government. This means that providers cannot choose pricing, as can be done in deregulated states and territories, leaving little room for price competition or incentives to switch.
As such, Jacana Energy is the Northern Territory’s largest electricity retailer, servicing more than 85,000 customers. Operating as a retailer, Jacana Energy is responsible for all issues relating to energy bills and pricing information for home and business electricity customers in the territory. According to the Jacana Energy website, some of the things you may contact the retailer about include:
- Energy bill queries
- Concerns around your electricity account
- To organise an electricity connection or disconnection.
Jacana Energy also provides information around energy efficiency in the home and renewable energy schemes available in the territory, as well as tools for estimating your energy usage.
Jacana Energy ‘My Account’
Jacana Energy has an easily accessible online platform, called ‘My Account’, which allows customers to access their billing and plan information at any time. With My Account, bill-payers can check and monitor their electricity usage as well as view their billing history and update their contact details. This platform can also be used to pay bills securely online.
To register for ‘My Account’ with Jacana Energy, customers will need to share their account number, date of birth and first and last name. They will also need to have access to the email address that they have linked to their Jacana Energy account. Only the primary account holder listed can create a ‘My Account’.
Jacana Energy meter reading
It is important to note that Jacana Energy is not responsible for the meter readings of its customers. These readings are completed by Power and Water Corporation, the electricity distributor for the Northern Territory. Power and Water Corporation will read your meter once every three months. If for whatever reason it cannot access your meter or property, you will receive an estimated bill, based on your historical billing information instead.
Jacana Energy electricity tariffs and plans
Jacana Energy has three standard electricity plans for residential customers to choose from – Standard Residential Everyday Home, Standard Switch to Six and Standard Multipurpose. The Standard Residential Everyday Home plan is essentially a basic electricity deal, where customers are charged a single rate for power. The Standard Switch to Six plan is similar to a time of use tariff in that customers are charged different rates for electricity usage depending on the time of day. As for the Standard Multipurpose plan however, customers are charged for usage in block rates.
Standard Residential Everyday Home
| Supply rate | Usage rate |
|---|---|
| 53.96 c/day | 27.3726 c/kWh |
Standard Switch to Six
| Supply rate | Peak Usage Rate (6am-6pm on all days) | Off-Peak Usage Rate (6pm-6am on all days) |
|---|---|---|
| 53.96 c/day | 32.2882 c/kWh | 24.6169 c/kWh |
Standard Multipurpose
| Supply rate | Usage Rate (first 45kWh/day) | Usage Rate (over 45kWh/day) |
|---|---|---|
| 53.96 c/day | 27.3726 c/kWh | 31.8557 c/kWh |
Prices include GST and are accurate as of October, 2022.
Jacana Energy Prepaid Power
If you have a new digital meter, you also have the option of pre-purchasing your electricity with Jacana Energy. To pre-purchase your power, you will need to top up the applicable swipe card for your meter. These top ups can be done online on the Jacana Energy website or in store at a participating shop (the full retailer list can be found here).
If you move to a new property that has a prepaid meter, you will need to contact Jacana Energy for your set of swipe cards. You will receive two free cards when you first move in, however any future cards you may require will cost $20. It’s important to note that these cards do not carry cash on them, but rather act as an ID for the meter at your property. Any money added to the swipe card goes directly to the meter. Life support customers are not eligible for a prepaid meter.
Business electricity
There is also a variety of business electricity tariffs available from Jacana Energy. The tariff best suited to you will depend on the business type you are running. These are the current tariffs available:
- Everyday Business or Standard Business 6 to 6: Available to business customers who consume less than 750MWh of electricity a year, including motels, hotels, shops, offices, warehouses, mining enterprises and farms.
- Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) Tariff: Applicable for registered charitable organisations.
- Commercial Default Tariffs: These are deregulated offers that are open to customers that use between 750MWh and 2,000MWh of electricity a year. Pricing varies between Darwin-Katherine, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek for these tariffs.
There is also a dedicated tariff available for caravan park residents.
Jacana Energy solar
Jacana Energy offers a standard solar feed-in tariff of 9.13 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) to residential customers and business customers with less than 30kVA. There is also a premium solar feed-in tariff of 26.6530c/kWh available to residents and 31.0182c/kWh to businesses however, to be eligible for this tariff, you will have need to have had a system installed prior before April 5 2020. These prices are inclusive of GST.
To install a solar panel system at your property in the Northern Territory, you will have to contact Power and Water Corporation and fill out the appropriate connection application forms.
Jacana Energy company information
Below, we have listed some of Jacana Energy’s important company information, including contact details. If you are a Jacana Energy customer, it may be worthwhile to keep a copy of this information for any future billing concerns or issues.
Jacana Energy contact details
There are a number of different contact methods for Jacana Energy, each depending on the type of enquiry you have. Here are some of the numbers and emails you may use to contact Jacana Energy:
Phone
- Customer enquiries and complaints: 1800 522 262 (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm)
- International: +61 8 8928 6710
- Residential: customercare@jacanaenergy.com.au
- Business: smallbusiness@jacanaenergy.com.au
- Complaints: resolutions@jacanaenergy.com.au
For any emergencies or issues with your power supply in the Northern Territory, you should contact Power and Water Corporation’s 24/7 hotline on 1800 245 090.
Jacana Energy coverage map
Jacana Energy services residential and business electricity customers across most of the Northern Territory. Some of the major urban areas it covers include:
- Darwin
- Katherine
- Alice Springs
- Tennant Creek.
If you live in a remote community or Jabiru, Alyangula or Nhulunbuy, your electricity provider will be Power and Water Corporation.
Jacana Energy power outages
If you are a Jacana Energy customer and you experience a power outage, you will need to contact Power and Water Corporation, the electricity distributor for the area. For more information, please visit Power and Water Corporation’s current outage page.
About the author
This page was written and is regularly updated by Canstar Blue’s Utilities Editor, Tara Donnelly. Having spent the last decade writing for and editing comparison websites, she’s an expert in all things energy, phone and internet. She loves to highlight the next best deals, while also flagging the things you need to be aware of.
Learn more about Canstar Blue’s Editorial Team.
Image credit: Nature lapse/Shutterstock.com, Jacana Energy website
Other NT energy retailers and distributors
While Jacana Energy may be the largest electricity retailer in the Northern Territory, it is not the only one who services the area. There are also a limited number of natural gas and LPG suppliers and retailers in the territory. Here are the energy retailers and distributors in the Northern Territory.
Electricity retailers*:
- Jacana Energy
- Rimfire Energy
- QEnergy
- Next Business Energy
- EDL NGD.
*Please note, some of these retailers may only be available to business customers
Electricity distributors:
- Power and Water Corporation
Natural gas distributors:
- Australian Gas Networks: For Alice Springs and surrounds.
- Power and Water Corporation: Large business customers only.
LPG retailers:
- Kleenheat
- Supagas
- Origin
- Elgas.
FAQs about Jacana Energy
What does Jacana Energy do?
Jacana Energy is a state-government owned electricity retailer in the Northern Territory. This means that is supplies power to homes and businesses across the NT. Jacana Energy is claimed to be the largest electricity retailer in the territory with over 85,000 customers.
While Jacana Energy is responsible for the electricity accounts and billing for customers, it is important to note that it does not manage the distribution network. If you lose power during a blackout or through a supply fault, Jacana Energy won’t be able to assist and you’ll need to instead contact Power and Water Corporation – the electricity distributor for the area.
Who owns Jacana Energy?
Jacana Energy is 100 per cent owned and operated by the Northern Territory government. According to its website, it was established in July 2014 as part of a reform for the electricity industry in the NT.
How do I pay my Jacana Energy bill?
There are a number of ways to pay your energy bill with Jacana Energy. These include:
- BPAY
- Direct Debit
- Over the phone
- Cheque
- Post Billpay.
You can also pay bills online using your My Account. Jacana Energy accepts Visa or Mastercard. With any of these payment methods, you will need access to the 11-digit reference number located in the payment section on your bill. If you don’t have a reference number, you’ll need to contact Jacana Energy.
Can I choose an electricity provider other than Jacana Energy?
While you can choose a different electricity provider in the Northern Territory, there are a limited number of retailers and competition in the territory, especially for residential customers. Because of this, you may find that Jacana Energy is the only suitable option in your area.