WA Energy Assistance Payment - Horizon Power customers (regional WA)

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set. Source rule: AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_HORIZON, rule version 2025-26, effective 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.

1. State gate: state = WA. Even if you commute interstate, the EAP attaches to a WA-located Horizon-served address.
2. Provider gate: electricity_provider = horizon_power. The Horizon EAP rule conflicts with both AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_SYNERGY and AU_WA_ENERGY_ASSISTANCE_PAYMENT_ECES - one EAP per household per year.
3. Card gate: concession_card_type in {pensioner_concession_card, health_care_card, dva_gold_card, dva_pensioner_concession_card}. WA Seniors Card alone is insufficient; one of these four federal cards must be present.
4. Account-holder gate: electricity_bill_account_holder = true. The credit is bound to the named billpayer on the Horizon Power account.

Required source fields: state, concession_card_type, electricity_provider, electricity_bill_account_holder. The excludes.any block is empty - all blocking is implicit through the four positive gates and the conflict list. Affects: enables AU_WA_DEPENDENT_CHILD_REBATE_ECES and AU_WA_AIR_CONDITIONING_REBATE.

Income & Assets Treatment

The Horizon EAP has no separate income or assets test - eligibility is fully delegated to the underlying federal concession card. Whichever Centrelink or DVA test qualified you for the PCC, HCC, DVA Gold or DVA PCC has already done the means-testing work.

For a regional context that matters in the Pilbara and Kimberley: high mining-town wages mean fewer households hold the LIHCC, but FTB-A-linked HCCs are common (the FTB-A income limit is $65,189 for one child in 2025-26 indexation), and Age Pension PCC holders dominate the Mid West and Esperance. The card itself, not regional cost-of-living, is what unlocks the EAP.

The credit is not assessable income for Centrelink purposes, does not count against Rent Assistance, FTB-A or FTB-B, and does not interact with any solar feed-in arrangement. In Horizon's solar-buy-back regions (e.g. Esperance, Carnarvon) the EAP simply increases any net credit balance the customer already carries.

How to Apply

Application channel per application_meta: phone. Horizon Power's online presence for concessions is intentionally lighter than Synergy's because many regional accounts run through embedded retailers and remote-area billing systems.

• Phone Horizon Power on 1800 267 926 with your account number (top of any bill, 10 digits) and your concession card details (CRN, expiry).
• Download the paper application form from horizonpower.com.au under Rebates and Concessions, post to Horizon Power, PO Box 4759, KARRATHA WA 6714.
• If you live in a remote community served by Horizon's North-West Interconnected System (NWIS) or Pilbara North-West, the local Horizon office in Karratha, Broome or Geraldton can lodge the application in person.
• Verification with Services Australia takes 5-10 business days, slightly longer than Synergy's because of the regional batch-processing schedule. The credit then begins on the next bill cycle.

Read the official WA Government EAP guidance

Documents to Have Ready

Required evidence per application_meta.evidence_required:

• Concession card in the name of the Horizon account holder - PCC, HCC, LIHCC, DVA Gold or DVA PCC.
• Horizon Power account number and the address of supply (must match the card holder's residence).
• Photo ID if applying in person at a regional office (driver's licence, Medicare card or passport).
• For couples where the card-holder is not the named billpayer, either request a billing-name change or add the cardholder as a joint account holder before applying - Horizon does not split the credit between names.

Timeline & Renewal

Once your card is verified, the daily credit accrues automatically. Horizon Power runs monthly billing in most regional zones (more frequent than Synergy's quarterly cycle), so you should see the first reduced bill within roughly 30-60 days of the call. Over a full year the credit totals $342.85.

The rule expires 30 June 2026. The State Government typically reissues an indexed amount each July - the 2025-26 amount of $342.85 is up from approximately $326 in 2024-25. No re-application is needed across financial years if the card stays current. If you move to a Synergy area (e.g. Karratha to Perth), you must close the Horizon account and re-register your card with Synergy for the equivalent EAP.

Real Scenarios

Scenario 1: Joaquim, retired in Geraldton on Age Pension

Joaquim is 74, single, lives in a 3-bed house in Geraldton (postcode 6530) on the full Age Pension of $1,178.70/fortnight, holds a Pensioner Concession Card and has been a Horizon Power customer since 2018. His monthly Horizon bill averages $185, climbing to $260 in winter. He calls 1800 267 926, gives his PCC details, and the EAP is registered. Outcome: $342.85 spread daily across the financial year reduces each monthly bill by about $28.50. No further admin needed unless his card lapses.

Scenario 2: Salvador and Ines, Karratha couple, DSP and FTB-A

Salvador (43) is on the Disability Support Pension, his partner Ines (41) gets FTB-A for their two kids aged 6 and 9, and they rent in Pegs Creek, Karratha (postcode 6714). Salvador holds a PCC; Ines holds an HCC via FTB-A. The Horizon account is in Salvador's name. Monthly summer bills hit $480 because of constant aircon. Salvador phones Horizon, registers his PCC, and the $342.85/yr EAP starts. He also becomes eligible for the Air Conditioning Rebate ($71.80/month for the months north-of-26th-parallel households qualify) - that adds roughly $861/yr on top of the EAP.

Scenario 3: Vasco, mining-town worker in Newman

Vasco is 52, holds a Health Care Card because his casual roster pushed his income below the LIHCC limit during a downturn, and lives in BHP company-supplied housing in Newman (postcode 6753). His electricity is on-charged through BHP, not Horizon Power. Outcome: the Horizon EAP rule explicitly excludes bhp and rio_tinto as electricity providers. Vasco cannot claim either the Horizon EAP or the ECES EAP. He should ask BHP's site administrator whether any internal hardship offset applies, and if a private retail account can be opened in his name later he becomes eligible.

Common Mistakes

• Applying through Synergy when you live in a Horizon area. Synergy and Horizon are separate retailers with separate rules - the Synergy form will reject any account number that isn't on the SWIS network. Use 1800 267 926 instead of 13 13 53.
• Mining-town residents in BHP/Rio Tinto company housing. Both retailers are explicitly excluded from the Horizon and ECES EAPs. The credit is not available even if you hold a federal concession card.
• WA Seniors Card alone. The eligible card pool is strictly federal (PCC, HCC, DVA Gold, DVA PCC). WA Seniors Card holders should look at the Pensioner Rates Rebate or Cost-of-Living Rebate instead.
• Card holder not the billpayer. Horizon does not split or redirect the credit. Either transfer the account to the cardholder or add them as a joint billpayer before applying.
• Moving from Perth to a regional town and assuming the EAP follows. The EAP is per-account. When the Synergy account closes, the Synergy credit stops; you must re-register with Horizon Power within the new account.
• Letting the PCC or LIHCC expire. The credit stops on the card expiry date. PCC/HCC linked to a Centrelink payment usually re-issues automatically, but LIHCC requires an annual re-application unless circumstances are unchanged.

Related Links

• WA Energy Assistance Payment - Synergy - same $342.85/yr value but for SWIS-network customers in Perth, the South West and Goldfields. Mutually exclusive with this Horizon rule.
• WA Energy Assistance Payment - ECES - the third EAP path: for embedded-network, off-grid and non-Synergy/Horizon retail customers. Apply through RevenueWA, paid annually.
• WA Dependent Child Rebate (ECES) - first child - $360.51/yr for ECES EAP recipients with at least one dependent child on the card. Horizon customers usually fall under the ECES dependent child rule, not the Synergy one.
• WA Air Conditioning Rebate - $71.80/month for EAP recipients living north of the 26th parallel or in a 50-day RSI zone with aircon. Highly relevant for Pilbara, Kimberley and Gascoyne Horizon customers.
• WA Hardship Utility Grant Scheme (HUGS) - one-off crisis grant for households with overdue utility bills. Different test from the EAP and can be claimed through Horizon if you are in arrears.
• WA Household Electricity Credit - federal EBRF $150 universal household credit, applied automatically to Horizon accounts in October 2025.