The Staying Connected workshop is aimed at building the capacity of front-line community service workers in Tasmania to assist their clients in staying warm and managing their energy bills; but it is also very useful for individuals. We developed the workshop in partnership with TasCOSS, and delivered it all over Tasmania, as well as producing this video of it.

Table of contents

You can click the links to jump straight to the relevant part of the video...

INTRODUCTION (0:00:00)

ENERGY IN TASMANIA - a brief overview (0:01:34)
- The electricity supply chain (0:01:34)
- Electricity cost breakdown (0:04:00)
- Electricity price regulation (0:06:40)
- Gas supply chain (0:08:16)

ELECTRICITY BILLS - how to read them (0:11:36)
- Measuring electricity (0:11:36)
- Aurora Pay As You Go (0:12:48)
- Tariffs (0:04:11)
- Reading an Aurora electricity bill (0:19:32)
- Useful calculations from bill information (0:25:38)
- Estimating hard-wired heater energy use (0:28:05)
- Estimating plug-in heater and clothes dryer energy use (0:28:55)
- Estimating hot water energy use estimate (0:29:30)

HOW TO USE ENERGY BETTER (0:30:30)
- Where does it go? Breakdown of typical household energy use (0:30:46)
- Heating (0:31:42)
- Dressing appropriate (0:31:42)
- Finding and fixing gaps (0:32:30)
- Zoning heated areas (0:33:30)
- Curtains and pelmets (0:34:10)
- Heater comparison (0:35:10)
- Using a thermostat (0:37:06)
- Heat pumps (0:38:46)
- Plug-in heaters (0:39:12)
- Wood heaters (0:39:40)
- Energy Game (0:42:24)
- Hot water (0:43:55)
- Shower heads (0:43:55)
- Improving existing hot water systems (0:44:44)
- Lighting (0:45:37)
- Appliances (0:47:11)
- Appliance star ratings (0:47:11)
- Cooking (0:47:41)
- Fridges (0:48:09)
- Hidden energy hogs (0:49:01)

SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE (0:50:39)
- Concessions (0:50:39)
- Payment options (0:53:31)
- Payment plans (0:59:01)
- Aurora Energy's YES (hardship) Program (1:01:00)
- Energy Hardship Fund (1:02:42)
- Emergency relief (1:05:01)
- Financial Counselling (1:05:43)
- No Interest Loans (1:07:29)
- Complaints & disputes (1:09:05)
- Avoiding disconnection (1:11:40)
- Getting reconnected (1:15:26)

Thanks to the Tasmanian Government for funding the Staying Connected project through the Tasmanian Climate Change Office.