Thread: Getting a better Energy deal - WHAT A JOKE!

Originally Posted by chambezio

Only a couple of months back our "fearless leader" sent us pensioners a one off payment to "help" with our energy consumption....$67. What an insult!!! I am paying $50 a fortnight so I don't have a crippling $600 plus bill per quarter. I live on an acreage block so have to pump every drop of water either tank or bore. Yes its my choice and I wouldn't want to live in town. The price of fuel is another concern and so tripping around is another area of spending restraint.
Our leaders have no clue as to how we live!! Last night my wife found some statistics about the cost of meals in nursing homes. An allowance of $6.04 per day is what official figures allocate for all meals daily in these institutions. And what is the figure for our politicians daily meal allowance.....$180. Is there something wrong with the scales of decency? I really think that a shake up needs to be done to make these policy makers realise just what/how the large majority lives (Whinge over, I will get down off my soap box. I am not having a good day)

Its a valid point. The problem is that they're mostly all "Career Politicians" and haven't had a real job in their lives.

I find it rather perplexing when you have a minister for education with no education background, or a treasurer who was never an accountant, or a Minister for Social Services who's never worked at DOCs or as a counselor.

Hell i'd even settle for the minister for transport having to catch a bus or train to work at peak hour everyday as part of their job requirement...

They're all so far removed from your average battler it isn't funny..

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Policy announcement will be at least a week away I should think. Cabinet then Party Room etc.

Originally Posted by Lappa

If that’s the case, maybe he should avoid talking to the press until it’s been decided

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Errr, you DO realise he's a pollie.....? I suspect you're suggesting engaging brain before talking?

You're all being a little too hard.
It's been quite a while since Government policy was conceived behind closed doors and unveiled to the masses on Budget night or by way of the relevant Minister rising to their feet to address parliament.

These days bits of the policy are "leaked" to the media to either wet the voters' appetite, to test the winds, to forestall opposition within the party, to sure up support, or to distract attention from some other matter.

The charitable would say that it's part of a strategy to reduce Abbott's opposition to anything that remotely looks like "Labor policy". And the less charitable would have a different view.


An anecdote
a former work colleague worked on the first Rudd Budget. The story he told went like this.
After being advised the date of the Budget, he and his colleagues sorted out a schedule to deliver the budget detail to their minister in time for the Cabinet meeting a week before Budget Day. The following week, the Minister's aids were knocking on their door looking for stuff that could be "leaked" (i.e. given) to the media as "potential" budget highlights. When politely told to bugger off and let the bureaucrats get on with their work, the aids pulled rank and insisted on being supplied with "announceables" which at the time were both uncosted, probably not affordable, and had yet to be associated with a coherent policy.
Those who think Utopia is comedy are sadly disillusioned.

Today's news:
Clean Energy Target: There's nothing in the ACCC report that suggests it should be axed - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

An interesting quote from it:
"The ACCC report suggests there is room for tougher regulation to stop price gouging, encourage competition, and provide clearer information to consumers so they can navigate the market and get the best deal."

No kidding.

Just to reiterate that my AGL discounts went from 6% to 25% to 32% for Elec within a matter of 2 weeks, and Gas went from a super generous 2% to 15% (just for a day), to 16% for 8 days, to 25%.

Buggered if I can see what's not clear about that.

Originally Posted by fletty

To be honest, to those inside the industry who have been waiting for sensible policy, direction and discussion for nigh on 20 years, turning off the aircon during peak time is the only practical action we can take before we run out of generation in 3 to 5 years?

So for nigh on 20 years, those in the industry have known there was going to be a problem and the best they can come up with is to support the turning off of the air conditioning?

Originally Posted by Lappa

So for nigh on 20 years, those in the industry have known there was going to be a problem and the best they can come up with is to support the turning off of the air conditioning?

No, no , no - in the absence of sensible policy from the policy makers, and subsequent planning and execution of new generator builds.....the best they can come up with is to support the turning off of the air conditioning.

I'd be quite sure the industry insiders would like to be cracking on with new projects, and then business would have the surety and confidence it needs to invest, rather than this stagnation we have had for far too long.

Did anyone in the industry over the last 20 years submit a proposal/plan/submission to build power stations to the relevant authorities, that the relevant authorities refused/ knocked back etc.? I honestly have no idea but I’d like to know.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Did anyone in the industry over the last 20 years submit a proposal/plan/submission to build power stations to the relevant authorities, that the relevant authorities refused/ knocked back etc.? I honestly have no idea but I’d like to know.

Sorry, probably my poor choice of words. You need to remember that until recently ALL base load power stations were Government owned. If the relevant Government didn't plan and go to market for a new power station then none would be built. To my personal knowledge, people in the industry have been advising Governments for at least 20 years that, unless significant generation was installed, Australia WOULD run out of power. As I also said earlier, all of the forecasts I have seen, have us running out of power as early as 2020 and as 'late' as 2023. Unpopular science was ignored and popular idealism paralysed the normal strategic planning processes. I can list at least 6 base load power station projects recommended to be built in NSW alone, none of which have been built! Likewise, about 20 years ago, private proposals started to go ahead for peaking power plants resulting in (usually) gas powered peaking plants going ahead and these have kept us going.
My (poorly worded?) post in support of "turning off aircon" doesn't mean that is a preferred action BUT, as it takes a minimum of 8 years (EXCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)) to design and build a base load power station, 4 years (without EIS) to design a peaking 'green' plant AND, forecasters believe we will run out of power in as little as 3 years, then one of the few actions left to ALL OF US, not just "those in the industry" is to support the release the portion of our networks reserved for peaks by 'lopping' the peaks?
I also noted earlier the trial in Western Sydney of remotely turning off the compressor in air conditioners but leaving the fans running, was VERY successful ..... so there is hope!
I used to joke that discussing building a power station in a social situation was similar to announcing that you were a Union organiser. Everyone else in that social interaction 'knew' that a power station wasn't needed, was dirty and that if one was required then they likewise 'knew' that solar or wind generation technology was already available. Well, it wasn't!
What is needed is a national plan. That plan needs to consider ALL available generation, storage and control technologies. It must specifically address the perversity of the Australian energy market and those perversities are, as noted earlier, that our major load centres are North-South aligned and that we have a summer peaking load profile. There will be no single silver bullet solution.

Originally Posted by fletty

To be honest, to those inside the industry who have been waiting for sensible policy, direction and discussion for nigh on 20 years, turning off the aircon during peak time is the only practical action we can take before we run out of generation in 3 to 5 years?

This is neither poorly worded, nor unclear.

I agree with Brett that is was neither poorly worded or unclear. It was the picture it conjured up that I found disturbing.

Thank you for a concise and thought provoking reply Fletty. I suppose that I, working for the Govt, should have not have been surprised by the detail in your reply of pleas falling on deaf ears.

Cheers

Thank you Brett for starting this thread, I've been reading it with interest, especially on the discounts offered and the tiresome process to finally get a good/fair deal.
I've been hassling Origin for the promised "digital meter" since January this year to allow me to use the solar power our panels generate in the house; this changeover/upgrade was first mentioned in a letter to us 18 months ago.
Now our power bill has double with the loss of the government rebate plus the price increases and we are receiving a whooping $0.10 per kwh while paying something like $0.25 kwh.
The current excuse for the non installation of the digital in "poor/week 3G telephone signal" with Telstra; rescheduling to check if Vodafone signal is better is still coming; meanwhile we are footing a heaps higher electricity bill.
Cheers, Peter

Originally Posted by crowie

I've been hassling Origin for the promised "digital meter" since January this year to allow me to use the solar power our panels generate in the house; this changeover/upgrade was first mentioned in a letter to us 18 months ago.

It sounds like you should contact the Energy Ombudsman, especially if you are being forced to pay more because you can't use your panels (or use them properly). If that doesn't get any action in a month then you might find that another energy co sending them a "cease and desist" notification will stir them up a bit.

Time for hard ball Peter.

OK so i might have misheard (probably not though knowing the current govt) but apparently the new "Energy Plan" from the Libs involves cutting all subsidies for renewables by 2020... are these guys smoking some of Jamaica's finest or what?

Seriously, they can't be so politically retarded that they want to keep investing in Coal, Gas & Hydro but completely remove subsidies for renewables? Now I'm not saying they should stop Coal, Gas and Hydro, but completely removing any incentive to adopt clean energy sounds like political suicide to me... The Greens and Labor are going to ride this pony all the way to the next election...

Originally Posted by crowie

I've been hassling Origin for the promised "digital meter" since January this year to allow me to use the solar power our panels generate in the house; this changeover/upgrade was first mentioned in a letter to us 18 months ago.
Now our power bill has double with the loss of the government rebate plus the price increases and we are receiving a whooping $0.10 per kwh while paying something like $0.25 kwh.

If you are getting a FIT of $0.10 then nothing will change when you get a "digital meter" as you are already using your solar power and being paid for the excess. It only makes it easier for the utility to read it.

Originally Posted by Bohdan

If you are getting a FIT of $0.10 then nothing will change when you get a "digital meter" as you are already using your solar power and being paid for the excess. It only makes it easier for the utility to read it.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldn't having a smart meter also make it easier for the customer to read as well? So theoretically, Crowie would be able to optimise his power usage during daylight hours when Solar will take up some/most of the power demand of the house?

I know its possible to do without a smart meter, but it should make it easier i'd think... and if a smart meter is installed, would you get more rate variation other than the standard "Peak" & "Off Peak"? That would give you more flexibility to maximise the panels i'd suspect...

Well that's my assumption anyway...