{"id":109453,"date":"2025-03-27T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?p=109453"},"modified":"2025-03-26T18:40:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T07:40:44","slug":"government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Government pushes for energy bill relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE State Government has asked energy companies to defer bills and waive fees for about 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.<\/p>\n

NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe has written to 22 companies requesting they support customers in disaster-declared areas by waiving daily supply charges during outages, deferring bills for 14 days, and pausing disconnections and repayments.<\/p>\n

She also asked companies to provide clear information about payment plans and government financial support.<\/p>\n

Minister for the North Coast Janelle Saffin said every bit of support mattered for those doing it tough.<\/p>\n

“Thank you for your consideration of this request during this difficult time for the residents and businesses of the Northern Rivers and North Coast,” Saffin said.<\/p>\n

Customers affected by the storm can apply for Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA), which helps people facing short-term financial hardship stay connected to electricity or gas.<\/p>\n

Essential Energy will waive daily access charges for the period customers were without power.<\/p>\n

More information is available at essentialenergy.com.au<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE State Government has asked energy companies to defer bills and waive fees for about 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe has written to 22 companies requesting they support customers in disaster-declared areas by waiving daily supply charges during outages, deferring bills for 14 days, and […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":109455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-109453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/09aea9c94bfe5bc211e8ba081232a5c9\"},\"headline\":\"Government pushes for energy bill relief\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":169,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/\",\"name\":\"Government pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"width\":948,\"height\":103,\"caption\":\"Byron Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/09aea9c94bfe5bc211e8ba081232a5c9\",\"name\":\"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez\"},\"description\":\"\u200bSonia Caeiro Alvarez is a journalist with the Times News Group, covering Tweed Shire community news and arts and culture across the Northern Rivers.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/author\\\/soniacaeiroalvarez\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Government pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times","description":"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Government pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times","og_description":"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/","og_site_name":"Byron Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/"},"author":{"name":"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/09aea9c94bfe5bc211e8ba081232a5c9"},"headline":"Government pushes for energy bill relief","datePublished":"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/"},"wordCount":169,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/","name":"Government pushes for energy bill relief - Byron Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-27T02:00:00+00:00","description":"The State Government pushes for energy bill relief for 84,000 households and businesses affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/government-pushes-for-energy-bill-relief\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design15-2.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","name":"Byron Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Byron Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","width":948,"height":103,"caption":"Byron Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/09aea9c94bfe5bc211e8ba081232a5c9","name":"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cace2e03473b84f33675a59e75dc06ee663a004ebfc7d0df824c406cfe7577f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sonia Caeiro Alvarez"},"description":"\u200bSonia Caeiro Alvarez is a journalist with the Times News Group, covering Tweed Shire community news and arts and culture across the Northern Rivers.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/author\/soniacaeiroalvarez\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109453"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=109453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}