I have a plan
Greg Hunt (image from theaustralian.com.au)
Having just listened to a very concerned Greg Hunt and Ian Macfarlane announce a review – yes another one – into the renewable energy target and industry I have decided to put on my thinking cap and save us all from freezing to death because we are too scared to turn on the heater.
I know we have to reduce the cost of electricity…one would have thought that having an oversupply, as we do, and competition from the renewable energy sector, which we do, and ground-breaking research and development of renewables and sustainable practice, which we do, that the price may have come down due to market forces….but I digress. I am here to help.
I have just gone through my electricity bill with a fine tooth comb and come up with an idea.
Make electricity GST free. Voila! Everyone’s bill reduced by 10 per cent AND we get to leave a planet to our kids.
You’re welcome,
Kaye 🙂
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@Kaye Lee
Much better if you listen to this :
And let’s face it the ATO doesn’t mind foregoing 882 Million to Limited News and that criminal “mastermind” Woopert Murdock, in return for very good advertising pre elections.
This is what came to my mind
Supply charge was among other things, for “gold plating” the wires. The need to make double access supply the basis of supply (every end user has 2 supply paths to the nearest 11Kv centre), then single path to the premises of 415 Volts 3 Phase.
This was forced on them by the government/s selling supply chain, to ensure development, frequently unneeded, in case of issues down the path. http://goo.gl/5mEG7V is a very good exemplar of this situation underway.
August 16, 2012
“An investigation by Business Day has found the average electricity bill for a regional NSW customer has risen by 154% since 2005.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald’s business columnist, Michael West:
“The ‘gold-plating’ of Australia’s power grid is exacting a far heavier toll on electricity customers in rural areas than in the cities. Since 2005, the average bill for a customer in regional NSW has risen by 154 per cent to $2520. This compares with an average city customer’s bill of around $1800.”
Mr West says faulty forecasting has played a role – power companies have been basing spending decisions on their own forecasts of future consumption of electricity, but power demand has been decreasing.
Research published by REC Agents Association (RAA), states over the last three years electricity consumption in the eastern states’ National Electricity Market (NEM) has dropped by 3.2 % .
The explanation may provide little comfort for households reeling from continuing electricity bill shocks, particularly given recent research indicating the escalating use of solar energy and energy efficiency are contributing to reducing wholesale power prices across Australia.
The latest power price pain may motivate more New South Wales households to turn to solar power. According to Energy Matters, a 2kW solar panel system installed in Sydney can achieve savings of around $520 a year and a larger system, even more. Similar savings can be gained elsewhere in the state.”
You will note that carbon pricing and RET only commenced 7 weeks before this article. So remind me again what has caused the price hike?
Well made points Kaye Lee, but remember that the suppliers are saying that one of the reasons for the constant increase, in the increasing use of solar. As people opt off-grid, the suppliers have to try and get more out of fewer consumers, so the opting for solar isn’t a long term answer for everyone.
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Take into account energy efficient buildings + solar and the decrease in power usage adds up.
Aussies are paying for bad decisions made by power companies.
Reminds me of the tunnels built in Brisbane where the traffic forecasts were so far out the Clem7 went broke before they had time to say "whoopee".
Oh Dear, Greg C/Hunt has an idea ? It would be the first the Liberal Party has come up with. Wiki is the Suppository of all information according to Abbort, except out of his own Arse. Give this guy as much rope as needed to hang Himself. It should not take too long.
I hope you are right, but I suspect you give far too much credit to the moronic electorate.
“scotchmistery” You are so right, I have 2.5 Kw Solar cells and they have bought my Electric Bill from $240:00 to $52:00 at billing time. The Non-Believers can do as they please.
Good idea Kaye, abbortt wants to get rid of the carbon price so shouldn’t be a bother to him will it ??
It is my personal opinion that the utilities, electricity, water, gas, and public transport should never be privatised. These private companies have to make profits for their share holders, so they really can’t afford for consumers to conserve energy. The less we use, the more we pay. It just doesn’t make sense. Governments should own and run these for the bebefit of the country. Profits should be plowed back into the utilities to expand and maintain the infrastructure. Selling them gives the money to private companies who are, more often than not, owned overseas. Instread of the regular flow of money coming in to the government and staying in the country it goes overseas and the Australian economy doesn’t benefit and in fact, loses. But that’s just my opinion.
scotchmistery, They are fools sitting on couches and telling their bearded girlfriends that they were right in voting in this Rabble, They do not have a clue, as long as there is a stubby in thier hands.
To the smart Cookies that do exist in Australia, Most vote Labor. I worked offshore for 30 Years and made more money overall than Liberal Pretenders would like to make in their Lifetime. Hard work and quality does pay off. Something Liberal voters have no understanding.
This argument ,about electricity prices ,I think you need to look at your bill !! Supply Charge !! That,s a doozy ! My belief , supply charge was brought about ,because not all homes were occupied as in holiday homes & the like .These houses were unoccupied for long periods ,Supply was there ,but wasn,t being utilised !!To share the cost of providing electricity to everybody ,That was fair & equitable for all !! But now it has become a tool to increase prices ! Unit price per kilowatt of energy used ,No problems !! My electricity bill under the Newman regime rose 23% in one fowl swoop !! Supply Charge . March 2012 $25.90 ,.March 2014 $48.20 .Multiply that by 4 quarters $192.80 all plus GST ,10% .It,s a scam . These energy providers are as bad as banks ,their greed & manipulation is affecting our attitude to society !! Rant Over !!
Kaye, if you go to the web site of Reneweconomy, you can have a look at the climate change deniers who have been set up to review the renewable energy target scheme. I think the outcome is already written!
send this in a letter to all MSM. One of them will
publish . Need to get this brilliant idea out there.
I have found the increase in electricity has been in part due to the eradication of ‘off-peak 2’ and ‘off-peak 1’. We now simply have ‘peak’. I hope they all burn in the hell I don’t believe in.
Don’t you find it interesting that the gas is going up. In Nsw at least?
Why do they even bother paying people to do a review when we all know what they will say. Read this 🙁
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/australia-chooses-climate-change-denier-to-head-renewables-review-65883
I was going to ask, “Is it a cunning plan?”
But then I decided that, “That’s not a plan, this is a plan”- was more Australian
Re supply charge (I will have to check it’s definition so apologies if I get this wrong) – in Queensland, it will probably have been spiking due to the buyback of solar energy. The existing (and any new) infrastructure required to supply electricity to (or get back from) a premises must still be maintained. It is a case here where those who had the fortunate circumstances to be able to installed solar during the program benefited greatly, at the expense of others who could not.
Now, I’m not saying solar is bad, I’m all for it. But this program wasn’t thought out particularly well.
Side note – Thankyou to all contributors to AIMN. You provide me with hope!
On December 3 last year, just over 2 months ago, Greg Hunt delivered a paper to the Clean Energy Council National Conference in Melbourne. This is an excerpt from that speech:
“Ongoing developments in solar power technology provide enormous opportunities for Australian households and families to take direct action to reduce energy consumption and household emissions, while at the same time delivering real savings for family budgets.
Our Direct Action plan therefore encompasses support for solar power through our One Million Roofs, Solar Towns and Solar Schools programmes.
These initiatives are in addition to support for renewable energy through the Renewable Energy Target and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which is funding projects and research across the spectrum of renewable energy sources, including bioenergy, hydropower, geothermal, ocean energy and wind.
The Government will provide $500 million for the One Million Solar Roofs programme and a further $50 million each for the Solar Towns and Solar Schools programmes.
The Solar Roofs programme will provide $500 rebates for installing one million rooftop solar energy systems over the next ten years.
This rebate will be in addition to the support already provided through the RET. Eligible systems will include small-scale photovoltaic systems, solar water heaters and heat pumps. ”
So Greg, what happened? Peta tell you to hush now there’s a good boy? You will be remembered in infamy. Your title of Environment Minister is as much of a misnomer as our Minister for Women. You will now be known in my house as the rubber pretzel (amongst other names that I shall not repeat). You are a yes boy who changes his view to whatever you are told to say and I despise a man with no principles and conviction. You have been given a very important job to do and you have sold out. You sir, are a cad!
For my 5 cents worth, today I will shamelessly borrow from Crikey’s Editorial Comment –
“United States Secretary of State John Kerry goes to Indonesia and delivers a powerful warning:
‘Because of climate change, it’s no secret that today Indonesia is … one of the most vulnerable countries on earth. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the entire way of life that you live and love is at risk …
“Think about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It doesn’t keep us safe if the United States secures its nuclear arsenal while other countries fail to prevent theirs from falling into the hands of terrorists. The bottom line is this: it is the same thing with climate change. In a sense, climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.
‘Terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: all challenges that know no borders. The reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them.’
Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, goes bush — to regions devastated by worsening drought — and stands on bone-dry fields among dead cattle and broke farmers.
He is not asked about the impact of climate change.
And he doesn’t once address it.”
@jasonblog he didn’t address it because he hasn’t got the ability to do so. No earpiece, no Peta and he is f’ed.
Now this is going to be interesting. Christine Lagarde doing a Q&A on Thursday night on ABC. Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt better duck for cover
I may put some off with my comments and be called a nutter but sorry.
I am sure it would be a good PLAN if we rid ourselves of too many Eco Fatties in Australia and overseas. These blabbers have generous personal wages and receive the “so-called donations & grants”. Some experts have asked for $70,000- plus for a one hour lecture at Copenhagen or at Rio Conferences. What do they do with the buckets of dollars or pounds they received for telling everyone what they already KNOW?
Millions of dollars flow to these cash focussed know-it-alls who tell us again and again, that the climate is getting warmer and/or we could all die.. But who’s money is poured out into their expert hands and silk pockets only so they can present even better information and further the essential cause of tons of useless data gatherings? Yes, leading to more drawings of colourful climate charts in the tiniest of details.
Oh me, oh my, why must we see more and more of these research projects being lavishly funded? And mostly by taxes and good-willed billionaires..or a few suckers like me.
Give us a break and let everyone go solar and use less fossil fuels, and just use the technology being developed by creative engineers (please pay these guys the dollars) to save our beloved planet.
Why do we Privatise our utilities? How about we do what Putin did… just TAKE them back… after all, they are ours… paid for with tax dollars and sold due to poor governance. Buy them back at what we sold them for. I can cop a tax increase even. It would be less then the rise of my electricity bill.
Partook in a study during the late 1980’s ofAustralian energy network costings.
Turned out the public and private owned energy suppliers for decades had been overstating by a margin of up to 50% their future energy uses.
Now why would legitimate businesses be so f**en inaccurate?
Ans#1: A small matter of subsidy. Public taxpayer subsidy made all the fat cats rich.
Ans#2: public servants heads of department seniority policy meant no one was about to rock the boat.
Ans#3; just plain ole greed.
Prior to the election Greg Hunt’s Direct Action Plan undertook to spend $100 million per year to create an additional one million solar homes by 2020: anybody know how that’s going ?
@Trevor you hit the nail on the head especially with Ans# 3. I can only wonder why greed is now becoming a national pastime.
That is one of the easiest questions to answer. The average punter is guided by his political representatives.
Hi I have read your piece on electricity charges At the moment I have a petition before the Senate to remove the GST from power I got my petition signed by almost every state in Australia As power is an essential service it should by law be exempt from GST Thanks Yvonne D’Arcy
That is wonderful to hear Yvonne. Thank you for your action. Please tell us more when and if you can. Are you representing a group?
Research at UNSW to identify lowest cost scenarios of 100% renewable technologies using a genetic algorithm and simulation tools to return the optimal combination of wind turbine, CST (concentrated solar thermal) with 60% heat storage capacity, PV solar, hydroelectricity and bio-fuelled gas turbines while maintaining the NEM (base load) reliability standard i.e just as reliable as our current system). The overall combination year round was 40% CST, 30% Wind, 15 % bio gas, 10% PV and 5% hydro.
Their modelling limited hydroelectricity generation to available rainfall and bio-energy consumption to sustainable rates of below or around 15% of total NEM demand. They also factored cost of a simplified transmission network to balance supply and demand across NEM regions which they found to be a small proportion of the levelized cost.
Their study finds their 100% renewable electricity model cheaper on an annual basis than the replacement scenario under fairly modest carbon price ranges.
Reference: Ben Elliston, B, MacGill, Diesendorf, 2013, ‘Least cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market’, UNSW 2013.
http://www.ies.unsw.edu.au/sites/all/files/LowEmissionFossilScenariosSubmitted.pdf
Other research has come to similar conclusions for example, global research firm RepuTex said carbon prices would need to trade between A$70 and A$80 per tonne to ensure the closure of most polluting power plants
Reference: Energyasia.com, 2012, ‘AUSTRALIA: Gas growth to slow as coal continues to dominate, predicts RepuTex’, November 5, 2012,
energyasia.com/public-stories/australia-gas-growth-to-slow-as-coal-continues-to-dominate-predicts-reputex/
$70 to $80 per tone might sound like a lot to some but ….
The carbon price only has minimal effects on electricity compared to the overall cost. The bulk of the cost increse has come from increasing transmission costs partly due to gold plating mentioned by Kaye Lee at February 17, 2014 • 3:45 pm. NSW Liberal Leader barry O’Farrel blocked an enquiry into this gold plating phenomenon by monopolistic transmittion network owners, just before last years Federal election. Now why would Barry O’Farrel want to block that enquiry???
And people need to remember that the revenue raised by an increased carbon price can allow the government to make cuts to income and company tax as well as the GST. It can also be used to assist trade exposed industries (industries who are in competition from foreign competitors from countries without any carbon pricing).
Guess who aint a “trade exposed industry”? You got it….Coal fired Power Stations!
That mad Canadian last night on Q&A let the cat out of the bag, when he realised he had, he shut up real quick when he said, “the real cost of renewables was because the power companies are losing heaps & have to maintain their profit”, pure & simple, if as suspected the transmission charges will be dramatically increased to cover this lose more & more people will just go off grid causing even higher losses to the generating companies.
One day soon some lawyer will realise there is a mountain of money to be made with a class action against the power companies tackling their theft of solar power from home owners, taking it & selling if for a massive profit, It only has to happen once. Then there is always the option of an organised day/week where everyone with panels just turns them off instantly turning a supply feed to a load draw (doubling the effect), then you will see just how much the power companies are screwing everyone, gauged by how loud they scream. If done at the right time (a real hot day) this would shut down the grid due to lack of supply. (as an electrician trained in main power generation & distribution, I can tell you they would shit themselves, it would be so effective it would only need to happen once)